Write Stuff: 2009

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Holiday Spirit

With the smell of pumpkin cookies in the oven, I'm doing my best to get in the mood for the upcoming week. Aside from the 12 hour drive I'm facing this Wednesday, I'm doing pretty well. Most of my shopping is done, and I only have a mound of wrapping to do (once I manage to buy some tape--one of those details I somehow overlooked). Hubby, being the sweet man he is, also gave me my gift early--an iPod touch! Yay! It's very shiny, and does all sorts of awesome things, like surf the web and otherwise let me be connected. I love it!

Now, if I could just relax. Honestly, what is it with having a break from school and spending most of it stressed? It's not until the end of the break that I somehow get it together enough to sit down and chill. I think they make a pill for this, haha!

Please...

By: Meradeth Houston on 2:19 AM

Don't say the year is almost over. Stop counting down. The best part of the year is yet to come! Honestly, the next few weeks are the only ones I really ever get to enjoy, so let's not rush them :) I need the few weeks of Christmas break to regain my sanity (or at least pray that I can, because I'm not sure there's any left lurking around in my brain).

So, let's have some fun in the last three weeks of December! I'll sit down and do my end of the year stuff after Christmas is over.

The Finish Line

By: Meradeth Houston on 6:42 AM

I can see it. Really, it's two days away. Granted, the ending is always the worst part--hot, sweaty, exhausting, with piles of paperwork. Well, okay, not in a true, running race kind of finish line, but in the kind I'm facing, there are 55 exams waiting at the end that must seal their fate with my red pen. I'm looking forward to writing down that last score, I can assure you. It's been one helluva long road, and this quarter has kicked my trash. Teaching upper division is wonderful, and I loved it, but there's so much work that goes into it that trying to do so while also finishing my own research is something akin to insanity. Really, really akin :)

But, that line is in sight. I can see the ribbon stretched across the street and I have every intention of blasting through it, arms pumping in triumph. Once on the other side, I may just fall down dead, but I will have finished, damn it. Tomorrow is the review session (which is basically, 'let's pick Meradeth's brain until she wants to cry') and then the final is Friday night. Now, why they decided to have the test at night on the absolute last day of finals ticks me off, but it's not my doing.

Christmas break, you are I are going to have some fun times. I plan on bleaching the hell out of my ancient DNA lab, getting some research done, after I regain some of my sanity. Ahh, I just have to reach that line!

10,000

By: Meradeth Houston on 1:17 AM

I'm about half-way through OUTLIERS and I've probably spent more time thinking about what Malcolm Gladwell wrote than actually reading. First off, my family has adored this book, and I must admit the writing is suburb. I've read a whole lotta non-fiction and this reads a trillion times better than most. The concept is very, very interesting, too, and goes right along with what I've been discussing with my students lately. (Actually, I kinda wish I'd read this book before last week's lecture, which might have made a difference...yeah.)

Despite all the good, I'm still not sure I buy in to what he says. I mean, I get that the environment plays a HUGE roll in how we turn out. I mean, duh. But, so far he's managed to pretty much discount much of any genetic influence. Now, I'm probably a little biased here due to my background, but I do see the genetic make-up of an individual playing a substantial roll in how the turn out, too. The two parts, nature and nurture, are very much intertwined, but still, genetics does play SOME part. I look at my husband's family and see this very clearly: there are six kids, and although a couple of them have some musical ability (and a few don't *ahem, my husband, ahem*), one of them managed to get the bulk of it. My brother-in-law is freaking amazing when it comes to music and blows the rest of them out of the water. Was this purely environmental? Nope, they were all given lessons, and his slightly older sister the exact same lessons as him, and the result is the same. She can play okay, and he rocks the piano. There's something there that made him better, and I'm positive it was genetic.

And now, my other issue. If the environment does play such a huge roll, and some people really just get lucky with that, it's a seriously depressing thought. The same goes for complete genetic predestination. Gladwell argues that there are really no "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" situations, and that there's a whole lot more at play. More stuff that's out of our control. Yeah, that's a bummer and a half. For those of us who haven't had all pieces come together, it basically means we're screwed. Pardon me, but I don't like to think like that.

Now, 10,000 hours. Apparently the "magical" number that leads to true mastery of a task/ability. Interesting. I'm still puzzling over how this then fits into the fact that so many external, environmental factors also play into success. If I write for 10,000 hours it certanly isn't going to mean I'll get a book deal. It may mean I'm a good writer, but not that the pieces are going to come together. Maybe this is explained in the rest of the book :)

Thanksgiving

By: Meradeth Houston on 4:28 AM

Is it bad that I really just want this holiday to be over?

Yeah, probably.

Now, it's not that I'm not grateful. I love my family, my husband, and most things are going okay, and the quarter is almost over (yay!), but honestly, the holidays are not exactly the relaxing, idyllic events that I wish they were. My family has a hard enough time getting together without the added stress of cooking a giant feast. I'm not looking forward to spending the rest of the day at my grandparent's house, dealing the with underlying stress of my family attempting to be nice to one another while they stock up on insinuated insult-ammo like they're the Taliban waiting to start WWIII.

Okay, that's a little extreme, but you get the idea. I'm also sure that I'll have the gov't checking out my blog :)

I do hope everyone else's holiday is a little more fun, and a little less stressful.

And She's Out...

By: Meradeth Houston on 6:51 AM

Twitter account has been deleted.

Blog will now be focused on anthropological stuff, and grad school related fun.

All manuscript files have been carefully found on my computer, and backup, and are now resting peacefully in blank data.

Now I just wish there were a way to go back and retrieve all those wasted hours I've spent writing... Someone needs to invent a time machine. (I'll have to tell hubby to get on that!)

Why? Because I am DONE. Sick of this game. I don't need the added stress in my life, nor do I need the distraction from my real work. So, after the past 16 years, I'm dumping writing.

Please excuse me while I go cry in the bathroom for a while longer.

Friday Five

By: Meradeth Houston on 12:32 AM

Today's Friday Five brought to you by the fact I'm too lazy to go look over my lesson plan for later today.

(Wait, I have to come up with five things to write about?)

1.I had the most disturbing dream, wherein I ate my acrylamide gels in the UV hood. I'd really like to know what that means, other than the fact that I've been in the lab WAY too much lately.

2. There are very few things that bug me more than arriving to class, dropping off your assignment, and then leaving. Please, if you showed up to drop off your stuff, stay for the lecture!

3. The anthology I submitted to is supposed to have finalized their choices by Monday. I've given up on checking my email and am just leaving it up in the background. Now, if I could just get my stomach to stop twisting up at the thought of hearing back...

4. You know that point where you're so stressed that your body kicks your immune system into overdrive so that it doesn't get sick, despite the fact that you're probably exposed to every bug in the school-system universe? Yeah, I think I hit that point a few months ago.

5. I bought myself a bag of chocolate chips the other day, and I think I'm going to go eat some. And this weekend I will make pumpkin pie. Diet, what diet?

In which I will not rant

By: Meradeth Houston on 12:48 AM

I'm really not a ranting kind of chica, despite my earlier post. I don't particularly like it, unless it's done with a fair amount of humor, which is something I'm not very good at. At any rate, yeah, I'm better now. It only took a couple of days :)

SO. Writing. I've heard so many times that it's like a roller-coaster, and I know this is true. Soooo true. And I'm slowly getting used to that, trying to take the momentum from the ups to carry me through the downs. And further downs, where you're getting slower and slower and are pretty sure you're going to stop, dead on the tracks. Yeah, I'm kinda sick of this ride. At any rate, I'm still sitting in my car, buckled in, and praying for that next stomach-drops-out free-fall of awesome. Because that's what I do. So when I open up LOST and realize that it's not all that bad, like last night, I realize that maybe I can do this. Even if I can't stand the thought of trunking this novel if it doesn't sell, I'll still take it on the ride.

If I can ever finish my revisions. But, that is a rant for another post :)

Some days I think I just attract jerk-wads

By: Meradeth Houston on 3:08 AM

Honestly, like how many can I honestly meet in one day, month, year, lifetime? Because I really think I am hitting my quota. Especially the ones that I have to work with. My TA for the class I'm teaching could pretty much go to hades and leave the world a better place. I'm not trying to be mean by saying that, but I honestly think it's the truth. Some people are just mean. And quite frankly, mean people SUCK.

This rant brought to you by nasty emails send late at night that totally make me want to curl up into the fetal position for the rest of the quarter.

New Mexico

By: Meradeth Houston on 1:42 PM

I've managed to survive my trip to New Mexico, and now if I can make it through the next three days without looking like a total idiot, I will consider my trip a success. Well, hopefully. I'm here to collect some samples, too, along with meet with two of the top archaeologist working the the Southwest, so looking like an idiot may be more of an obligatory outcome, but if I can get my hands on some good samples, it may be okay. Considering I'll be spending Halloween dealing with dead people (like, literally I will be carrying some home in my bag), I figure this is probably the most time-appropriate trip I've ever made :)

I'm not dead yet...

By: Meradeth Houston on 3:33 AM

Although that might be hard to tell from the general lack of postage around here. I keep coming up with good post ideas and then totally forgetting them when I actually sit down at my computer. I need to start writing them down.

Anyhow, I'm not dead yet. This is really only because I managed to sleep last night, for a very looong time. It was wonderful! I am also nearly, nearly halfway done with this quarter. Thank heavens! The midterm is next week, and hopefully my students pull it together and don't think it's too hard. We'll see. Overall the class has been fun.

My new WIP is coming along nicely. I hit 7k the other night and have started planning out the real meat of the conflict. It's going to be sooo fun! And totally not YA. Well, I think. Since it deals with polyandry, I don't think it's going to be possible to keep it to that age level, even if my MC's only 18. At any rate, it's a fun little gothic, post-apocalyptic (sorta) story. :-)

And now, it's off to take my goat for a walk, then shoe shopping with DH. He's got to be the most picky shoe man on the face of the planet, so this shall be interesting!

Contest

By: Meradeth Houston on 3:45 AM

In my internet meanderings I came across a great contest that I plan on entering. Interested in a query contest by Mary Kole? Check it out. So far, her blog has been very interesting, so it's one of those I'd suggest you add to your feed :)

In other news, I've started another WIP, in order to keep myself sane while this quarter ends. Also, it's about time I put all that anthropology to good use, right? Anyhow, I've been exploring Polyandry off and on ever since I took a Kinship class way back at the start of grad school. Interesting topic, and making for a very tense situation. Gotta love it!

It's Off!

By: Meradeth Houston on 9:33 AM

I just hit send on my anthology submission. It's out in the internets now, and out of my hands! I'm pretty pumped about it, really, though it's not like the world best story, but it's okay. I had fun writing it at least, and I'm counting that as a major accomplishment. I re-wrote the first chapters about ten times, so I hope they're catch someone's attention (in a good way!). Here's to hoping that someone at Samhain likes it!

Other than that, I'm somehow struggling to keep my head above water for the moment. School has been, well, school. I'm exhausted and should be at the lab right now, but that can wait til later. I think some celebratory food and TV/book time have been earned right now. I made out like a total bandit at the library book sale earlier today (then had to find a way to get all the books home on my bike, which made me feel REAL smart, let me tell ya). Anyhow, I've got some good reading on my hands.

Speaking of reading, I've been ripping through a lot of titles lately. This past week, alone, I read:

-IF I STAY (interesting, though a little more introspective than I like. Totally made me bawl like a baby though.)
-WINTERGIRLS (Holy Crap. Such a powerful book, and not just in the way that it made me feel like a total cow from start to finish :)
-WAKE (This was my fav this week, mainly because it's more to my taste. I can't wait to get my hands on FADE, and GONE, asap!)

There's been a lot more read that that, but I'm too lazy to write about them right now!

Teaching

By: Meradeth Houston on 3:52 PM

I'm staring down the second week this quarter and trying to muster the strength to get back in the classroom. This is my first foray into teaching an upper division class, during the normal school year (not summer school), and it's been pretty good so far. I'm exhausted beyond all belief, but I think that's normal. I hope. I'm also deeply impressed with my students. Teaching and TA'ing for freshman and those who generally take the lower division anthropology classes has managed, over the years, to freak me out when it comes to the future of our nation. Thank heavens this class doesn't seem like that (so far). I'm much more on my toes teaching, and I love that. Well, with the exception of getting those random questions I don't know how to answer. Hate that. But yeah, I'm feeling a little better about the future of humanity :)

I'm also attempting to pull together my novella for the Samhain submission window. I've got to get that in soon, and have to finish my query and synopsis. I have drafts that I've worked to death, but I worry they aren't quite "there" yet. Not quite sure how to solve that, but I'm handing it off to a crit budy in hopes she has some ideas. I need to get this outah here though, as it's hit the point of negative returns (as in, if they don't like it, then I'll really hate myself for all the time I spent on it, when there's not a whole lot I can do with the dang thing). It's been fun to write, though, so that's always good.

I also finished WINTERGIRLS this morning. Whoa. I'm still reeling a little. It was a fascinating read, but I kept getting that feeling of "oh good grief I am a COW" while I read. I know this isn't the intent of the author, but yeah, I'll admit that I'm looking at my food a little differently (well, after this past weekend with all the family dinners we had, it's probably a good thing!).

Okay, bed! Off to the classroom tomorrow, hopefully it's a good week!

The death of a book

By: Meradeth Houston on 1:36 AM

Every writer knows what this is like, well unless you're one of those people who got their first draft of their first manuscript published (and then, let's face it, I hate you), when you really realize that your book, your baby, is going to go the way of all the earth. It's going to be banished to the dusty back corners of your hard drive, never to see the light of day again. It's not a pleasant feeling, especially as you had high hopes for this book--you wrote it, re-wrote it, revised it within an inch of its life, wrote that fab query letter, researched your list of cool agents, and sent that puppy out into the world. In my case, I got an agent, and left an agent, praying that someone else in the world would give my book some love. That is just not happening. I've had plenty of requests (a few of which are still out there), but something in my gut tells me this is the end of Travelers. I'm raising the white flag and going to try not to cry.

Really, at this point, I just don't get it. What's wrong with this book? Does it really suck that bad? What the hell is wrong with it? Because I just don't get it. I think I may be moving through these phases of grief pretty fast, because I'm hot on the heels of being pissed right now. I. Don't. Understand. It's not that I think it's amazingly wonderful or anything, but it's at least as decent as some of the things I've read recently. Okay, before I start beating my head against my desk, I'm just going to say I don't get it. I'm really sick of this game.

I'm going to sub my novella to the anthology. I wrote my query letter last night. We'll see how that turns out. They'll more than likely reject it. And if they do, well, I think I'm out. I've got too much to do to keep playing at this, and I can just write for myself. There, it's in writing, and I am keeping myself to this!

Bah. Humbug! :)

FML

By: Meradeth Houston on 2:39 AM

Children's Books: An Angelic Autumn :

Vampire books may be getting pushed aside by, of all things, angels.

Yeah, it's just one of those days, trolling the web, and coming up with something like this. Gah, why must I always be a step behind??

Okay, back to my editing the translated paper. I need to find a better way to switch from English to Spanish, because right now trying to edit in English and chat in Spanish is totally giving me a headache.

Mexico City

By: Meradeth Houston on 9:59 AM

So, I finally made it down here. Ostensibly, to pick up some samples, but also to help out a colleague and friend, and do the tourist thing. It's an amazing city and I'm glad I'm here for a while. As an anthropologist, I love just watching people and noting all the craziness, or at least differences I see around here. There will always be similarities between the states and here, as they're related, but there's a definite Mexican spin on things here. So far, my favorite things I've seen:

The statue to the street dog. There are a bunch around here (though aparently less than before, as my friend pointed out there isn't as much dog poop all over the place). Someone took red paint to the statue and it's now bleeding all over the place. Very macabre.
The stall selling random books at the university here. There was a book on fuel injection right next to a gilded bible, right next to a book on how to tell your kids about sex. Awesome.
There are archaeology magazines for sale at the check-out at the grocery store. Love it!
Driving. OMG. I've mentioned this before, but holy crap. I don't know how there aren't more wrecks. It's like crazy-taxi all the time.

Okay, there are a million more, but I'm due at dinner. Can't wait for the ruins!

September

By: Meradeth Houston on 4:22 PM

And so starts the month of insanity. I'm not sure where to begin with all that I have to do this month. Tomorrow is the start of the in-law (*out-law*) family reunion. Then it's Mexico for sample collection. Then classes start and I have to teach an insanely difficult course that's going to kick my trash. What can I say? I'm not ready for this month!

Needless to say there will be minimal posts this month. I'm praying to keep my sanity somewhat intact, and that someone decides to pick up TRAVELERS before I run screaming from ever writing again. Okay, maybe not, but earlier this week I was totally feeling that way. I almost went though and deleted the book from my hard-drive and backup. Then I got a couple of super nice requests in the email and all was right with the world. Publishing: it's a roller-coaster!

Now, to go pack and try to get a couple of hours of sleep!

Regrets

By: Meradeth Houston on 2:02 PM

I had a great evening out with my friend, finally getting around to see The Time Travelers Wife. I adored this book, and the movie was pretty good. Thankfully I didn't bawl quite as much as I did at the end as I did while reading it. At any rate, while running afterward, I started thinking--if there were one thing (or more than one) that I could go back and tell my past self to avoid, what would it be? Would I win the lottery, like in the movie? Probably not (okay, only if I only had one shot, otherwise, yeah, I'll admit it, I would give myself the winning numbers and move to Tahiti).

Really, there are two things I might tell myself to do differently: not go to grad school, or to never start writing. The first because although grad school's all fine and dandy, it's been a long haul and often I wonder if it's worth it. I probably could have gotten my masters and taught at a junior college and been plenty happy. The other option, to stop writing, is something I think about from time to time. I love to write, and I know it's a big part of who I am, but it's also a massive time-sink and what do I have to show for it? Some lousy, not very original stories that I had a little fun writing while not tending to my husband or other school stuff? I tell myself that it should be about anything other than doing it for me, but I'll admit that some part of me wishes there was something more to it. Or that I just didn't suck.

Anyhow, in the world of regrets, these are my big ones. I'm not sure if they're really regrets, yet, but they certainly feel like it sometimes.

Of course, there's always that time I got stuck in the boy's locker room in junior high. I certainly could like without that!

Titles

By: Meradeth Houston on 3:01 AM

(It would seem that I have used this title for a previous post. Hmm. Good to know.)

I really hate titles. I mean, I like reading them on other people's work, but I really have a hard time coming up with them for my own stuff. At any rate, I've been attempting to come up with something for my novella wip. I've spent the last hour going through my chapters, searching for tidbits, words, other stuff that might work. It all pretty much sucked. I have a nice list though, and reading through it now makes me want to laugh. I have to tell myself that it's all part of brainstorming, otherwise I'd never write anything down (though maybe that would be better than "the truth" because that just downright sucks). At any rate, the list has a few decent ones on it, and the one I like best:

The Chemistry of Fate

I have to write it all by itself like that to see how it looks :) Anyhow, I like it, and I think it may stick for a bit, at least until I realize how much it, too, must go the way of all the earth. Or I find that it's been used before (though searching on google and amazon didn't bring anything up).

Goat Drama, or why I have kids and not children

By: Meradeth Houston on 5:52 AM

(ever come up with a title and just have to write a post about it? Maybe it's just me...)

Have you ever noticed how much a family's profession can influence the kids? DH comes from a family of lawyers. They like to argue. A lot. This is all fine and dandy, except that, ya know, I don't. I come from a family of health-professionals. We tend to like to discuss science, and the crazy guy who somehow managed to get one of those long gummy lures used in fishing sucked inside his male-member (don't ask me how, but yeah. Imagine that one. Now, imagine this story being told at the dinner table when you have a date with you.) So, what does this have to do with goats? Well, there's been this little incident lately:

Occasionally on here I decide to share a little about what it's like to live on a ranch. At any rate, living in the country is what I love, and I also love my goats. Incidentally, I hate sheep (stupid, stinky, dirty animals!), so although we randomly have a sheep or two, it's my herd of pygmy goats that keeps my heart. DH got me a goat when we first moved back to my family's ranch to take care of the property, and he's been our "dog" for the past five years. Niels Bohr (yes, we are nerds, he's a Boer goat, and my husband couldn't resist the physics pun) follows us around, sleeps on our steps, and is overall the best goat on the planet.

Two months ago, we made The Move. Into town. UGH. I'm not a town person (which may or may not have anything to do with the fact that I enjoy keeping the blinds open a lot, which is something that's not so great when you have neighbors). But, this meant leaving Niels behind on the ranch, under the care of my mom. Well, as it always will happen, the day before we left, Neils got hurt. Somehow or another he ended up with a back injury. The vet said he'd probably gotten in a fight with another goat and had taken a horn the wrong way. Personally, I think it was an emu. Bed-rest and staying away from the other goats was what he needed.

That was two months ago. Today, Neils is doing better. His back legs don't wobble the way they did, and although he still has some problems walking in circles (yeah, try getting a goat to do that), he's looking pretty good. DH, however, does not think so. At all. Like he vehemently denies that Niels is even a little bit better. It's led to all sorts of really fun arguments, which I'm sure have led our neighbors to really wonder what is wrong with us.

And this, ladies and gents, is why we don't have children. In case you were wondering. If we can't even agree on what kind of treatment for our pet, I'm not going to put up with when it's a person. (And right about now, I'm liking goats a whole lot more than certain people!)

Friday Five

By: Meradeth Houston on 2:35 PM

Somehow or another it's gotten to be Friday. Friday night, no less! What am I doing? Playing on the net. Because I'm a total nerd. At any rate, today's been a busy day and I did get out with my mom and sister to watch them get their nails done, then share yummy Mexican food and sit around laughing til we were crying. Fun times! At any rate, my five for today:

I finished my novella! Whohoo! I even typed in "the end" which is something that I never do. Now, I'm editing. I managed to get through the first page this morning, realized how much work this is going to be, and went out to breakfast :-) After writing this, I plan on tackling that all-important second page.
This week I managed to book my tickets to Mexico. I'll be heading down there for a chunk of September to collect some samples and visit a friend. I'll get to spend Independence Day down there, which should be awesome. I've got to start watching Spanish TV again (my fav way of making my Spanish brain start working again).
I haven't heard back on a single query this week. Gah! I keep telling myself "no news is good news" but it basically makes me start worrying my email has gone haywire. Still, no new rejections, and I need to get my partial request in the mail.
I spent a good chunk of today reading "Race is a 4-Letter Word" by C. Loring Brace. It's about the history of the concept of race, for the class I'll be teaching in the fall. I love this topic! Totally fascinating :-)
I've also been reading the Vampire Academy novels (thank you Davis library) and have been really enjoying them. There's a signing by Richelle Mead and Lili St. Crow in SF later this month and I hope I can talk my crit partner into going with me!

Hmm, those are seriously boring. At any rate, whatever, I'm off to revisions!

"The End"

By: Meradeth Houston on 1:35 AM

Lately, I've been working on something new. It's a novella for an anthology (have I mentioned this before? Bah, whatever, I'm saying it again), and it's been going pretty well. I managed to reach the required word-count a few days ago and have been steady building toward the ending. Right now, my characters are languishing in the middle of a very tense scene, complete with a nasty decision that must be made. And I'm totally stuck.

The pathetic part is I know exactly why I'm stuck. I hate endings. I hate finishing books, leaving a great movie, watching good friends move away, etc. I just don't particularly want to leave that world right now. It's been a fun place to live for the past months. It's gotta be done though, and today I'm going to force one of the MC's into something she's probably not going to like me very much for, but it's the only way I'll get to "the end."

The other problem I'm facing is a little more troublesome: I know how the story needs to end (thanks to the anthology guidelines), but what I've written doesn't fit the requirements well. Ooops. I know I can fix this during revisions, but right now it's making it super hard to get those two little words down on the page. I'm bending characters to my will, not exactly what they'd do if I just let them. This makes me feel like some sort of cruel over-lord who forces people to abase themselves at his feet. Okay, maybe not, but kinda. :-)

All right, it's time to get those two little words down on paper. (Then it's time to come up with some kind of working title...*gulp*)

Back to the Big Bad World

By: Meradeth Houston on 8:12 AM

Of queries.

Yep, folks, today it's back to the agentless world of awesome. I sent out an email earlier and now it's back to the agent-hunt. I probably shouldn't call it a "hunt" but considering all the research (as some have put it, stalking) that goes into this process, well, maybe it fits bit better than one might think. It does help that I've already got a full out there with someone (*ahem* dream agent *ahem*), which is the result of a long and confusing tale. Still, I'm not holding my breath on that one.

Really, all this has been quite a test of my determination. I want to be published. I want to do it right. I want an agent who believes in me and my work, especially when I think it's all a bunch of crap. That's what I'm going to be searching for now. No looking back! Still, there's that little voice in my mind asking "well, if you'd been good enough to start with, you wouldn't have had this problem." Grrr! I hate that little voice. Too bad it isn't easy to get him to shove it. All I can do is go back to my lists, see who I got requests from last time and I didn't send to because I'd already accepted elsewhere, and check out all the shiny new agents that are out there now (holy cow, there's been an agent Explosion!). It is time to move forward.

So, back to the trenches for me. A little wiser this time, too :-)

Harry Potter and other awesome things

By: Meradeth Houston on 9:44 AM

I honestly feel like I should be five years old at the moment, waiting for Christmas morning or my birthday. I can't wait for the movie tonight! (A small part of this is probably because I can't wait to sit in an air-conditioned room and be COLD!) In any case, this has a whole lot to do with me lacking most forms of entertainment in my life, but oh well.

In other news, I've been reading a LOT lately. And not just for class--imagine that! But I must, must blog about the book I finished the other night that I just adored: A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT by Laura Whitcomb. Honestly, I can't think about it without getting chills. It was just plain Awesome! (How's that for descriptive??) Anyhow, if you haven't read it, go check it out! (Okay, I should add the little point in here that this book is YA, but the characters are adults--old ghosts really--so there's some adult content, which I kinda, um, loved, but some people might not...)

One of my favorite things in this book is how Whitcomb makes the characters sound "old," as in from another era. I've played with this a lot with my characters in particular, however mine have been living in the world trying to blend in, so they try to loose the older-era feeling. Not all the characters though, so I've been really trying to nail down what she does to make this part of the story perfect. Ahhh, I just bask in its glory! (That sounds strange. But I do. :)

Her next book THE FETCH is waiting for me at the library and I know what I'll be doing this weekend :-)

Slack

By: Meradeth Houston on 3:46 PM

Considering I'm feeling rather miserable today and have spent a lot of the day on the couch, feeling all miserably and contemplating my navel, I've had some time to think. I generally don't ever get to slow down enough to do this regularly so it was a rather odd experience. Anyhow, here's what my topic for the day was: cutting myself some slack. Now, this is not something I (ever) do. I'm kind of one of those people who expects perfection of myself the first time, and anything less frustrates the hell out of me. I can't help it. I am a perfectionist. Even on things that are totally out of my control. And it's killing me.

There are a lot of things I could point to and say "hey, this is the reason behind my affliction." But, I've never been one of those people. Honestly, I'm this way, and I just have to deal with it. So, this is my current plan: I am not going to beat myself up over things that are out of my control, or even those things that are moderately under my control but still don't work out perfectly. Life is a learning process and if I don't get it right the first time, I've learned something and will do better the next.

So, the fact that my students this summer session are a lazy bunch of remarkably unintelligent people who never seem to attend my lectures? This is NOT because of me. I'm going to cut myself some slack and remember this is the first class I've ever taught on my own and I am still learning. This fall, I will be better, and even if my students don't grace all of my lectures, it's not my fault.

My family may go to hell in a handbasket, and it won't be my fault. They are all adults. They can take care of themselves (well, yeah, I won't get into this one). I'm going to cut myself some slack if I don't get time to call every night and visit my grandparents enough.

My research is difficult. No one goes into ancient DNA knowing everything, and considering I went into this field with NO genetics background, I'm always leaning new stuff, and if I sometimes miss contamination in my sequences, well, I'll just fix it. And do better with my new samples. My adviser is going to think I'm an idiot always, so the hell with it. Cutting. Some. Slack.

Despite the fact that I have a MILLION things to catch up on in the lab tomorrow, I'm going to write. Damn it. I am. There's an awesome anthology I want to contribute to, as it's right up my alley, and if that means that I am going to ditch the lab, writing lectures, critiquing the two other books I need to have read and comments on before August, so be it!

Um, okay, enough ranting. But yeah, honestly, I think cutting ourselves a little slack every once and a while is a good thing (well, for some people; there are a few people *cough my students cough* who need to take a little less). So yeah, that's my plan. We'll see how long this lasts :-)

Grrr

By: Meradeth Houston on 4:29 AM

Okay, maybe it's just Monday, but I'm not in the world's best mood at the moment, and I can easily pin-point the reason: I'm afraid I'm about to re-join the ranks of the un-agented. I'm not making any rash decisions at the moment, but the writing's on the wall, and I'm not so sure what to do. So, here's what's going on:

Round #1 of revisions went well--I sent them back to my agent right on time and I thought they really rocked. Her comments were very helpful, and spot-on in my opinion. Of course, the question was: what will she think? There's only so much nail-biting and otherwise frustration-expressing that one can do.

After almost a month, I emailed to check in on what was going on. A few emails later, basically she said she'd get to it soon and would get back to me. That was two months ago. I didn't check in during that time, but finally decided that I was going to have to, which I politely did last week. Sent email off, and hoped she'd get back to me soon. She's always been super-prompt in the past.

And I'm still waiting. I know, holiday, weekend, etc., and I should just cool my jets, but I know she's been working (thank you, twitter), so I'm not sure what's going on. It's killing me slowly here, I tell ya! I'll wait a little longer, and if nada, email again. Again, if nothing, it's time for a phone call, I think. *sigh* I honestly don't know.

Got any good ideas? I'd love to hear em!

Things I wish someone had told me before I started grad school:

By: Meradeth Houston on 11:00 AM

Considering I'm going to be starting my fifth year of grad school, maybe this is a little late, but as I fight my way through my first quarter of teaching here at UC Davis, these are some of the things I've been thinking about:

TA'ing will suck more time and energy than a black hole, with the exception of actually teaching, which is a black hole and there's no escaping (at least until grades are submitted).
Sometimes there's a real reason why some people end of in academia, and it's not always a good one.
Research institutions are very, very different from teaching institutions, though this isn't information that's easily found anywhere.
Not all advisers are created equal. See #2.
It IS possible to get through school without debt (this doesn't go for professional schools though :). You will pay for it though through blood, sweat, and tears, and usually a liberal amount of swearing.
It is possible to live on ramen consistently. It will result in scurvy. Multi-vitamins will help.
Having children in grad school requires super-powers, generally the ability to go without sleep for weeks at a time. I do not have this power, and really, I don't want it. I like to sleep, and if I'm going to get a super-power of any kind, it damn well better be flying.
On-campus housing will smell bad. Always. No amount of industrial-strength febreeze will get rid of it.
Get an apartment with a washer, dryer, and dishwasher. It'll make your life worth living.
Remember to occasionally take a break to do something fun and mindless. You won't have time, but it'll make things look a whole lot better once you're back.
Your first journal article will probably kick your ass. Theoretically, it will get easier.
Learn how to speak in public before your first gig teaching or speaking at a conference. Being nervous is going to get you laughed at, trust me (from personal experience).
Grading tests/papers/assignments is fun for about the first two minutes, the first time you do it. Then the power-trip fades when you realize how dumb the majority of people in college are.
Exercise. Trust me, you'll feel better. Even when you have a pile of papers to read, and grading, and that extraction that's not working and you have to find some way to fix it before tomorrow, taking twenty minutes to run will help.
Going to grad school close to family can be good. And bad. Weigh these options carefully.
Caffein is going to be about the only thing that's going to keep you going (unless you drink, and then that too). Just get used to it.
Freshmen will always be clueless. The charm of this trait wears off fast, so enjoy it while you can.
You will treasure those students who actually listen to you, and are enthusiastic about your subject. They'll make your teaching life worth living.
Holding office hours on a Friday will ensure that you never have to see anyone.
Bribes work, especially when disguised as something else.

Okay, that's all I can think of for the moment. Anyone got anything to add?

New Chapters

By: Meradeth Houston on 9:21 AM

I wish I were writing about a new book I'm starting, or something writing related, but I'm not. Still, it's pretty big: I started teaching my first class at UC Davis today. Human Evolutionary Biology. Six weeks of total hell await me, with six hours of lecture a week, along with everything else, but it's what I've been aiming to do for ages. It's kinda strange to think that somehow I actually got here, knowing I've wanted to get here since I started college, and finally standing up in front of the class today and telling them all I'll be their professor. Total mind trip! And today's lecture sucked. Oh well, I was really nervous, and tomorrow will be better. I know it will. It's just one of those things I'm going to have to work toward.

Also, DH and I moved this weekend. We're now living on campus in married student housing, about a five minute walk from my building. The apartment smells funny and we have WAY too much stuff (books, mostly, no surprise there). But, it'll do. And I'm close enough to the lab to get more work done. I hope.

All these changes, really, it's making my head spin. I'm exhausted and wish I could escape it all. But, in some ways, it's good. I think I've been stagnant for too long. Now, if I can just survive the summer...

Some days would be better in bed

By: Meradeth Houston on 3:27 AM

(no, not in the dirty way--get your mind out of the gutter!)

I was really feeling an angsty and whiny post until I started reading reading through some other blogs and decided I didn't want to sound like that :-) And trust me, I could, after the amazing amounts of frustration going on around here (um, packing, starting to teach, not having heard from my agent in Forever and really getting worried about it, blah blah blah--all but the last are fixable and I'm going to be positive if it kills me!). So, here's what's good right now:

I have a somewhat working draft of LOST, currently out with some amazing ladies who I'm very interested to hear what they have to say (and somehow I AM going to find the time to read their stories cuz they are burning a hole in my in-box!).
Despite the frustrating email I got from my adviser last night that is making my question why on earth I ever thought I could be a scientist, I am a year away from my doctorate. Damn it, I will finish! I will be a kick-ass teacher, too! (well, maybe, at least, that's what I'm aiming for :-) I am learning all the time how to be better, and how to do this whole thing right, and someday I will be better for it.
I am re-reading CATCHING FIRE and loving it. Someday I will write a book like that, and it will be utter awesomeness.
It's a good thing that I don't have anything pressing right now that HAS to be written, because I've got so much on my plate that trying to eek out writing time would just be impossible. (Okay, this is what I'm telling myself, but I'll admit that I'm missing it terribly and need to write for my own sanity here, and soon. Curse you muses!)

Um, okay, that wasn't very positive. But I'm trying. I really am. (In all honesty, I was doing pretty well, too, until last night...). So, back to working on my lectures!

CATCHING FIRE

By: Meradeth Houston on 1:54 AM

I really, really must rave about this book. I've read a lot of stuff that I meant to blog about, but this one I'm going to actually do it (instead of putting it off like just about everything else in my life :). Anyhow, with lots of begging and otherwise twisting-of-arms, I managed to get my hot little hands on a ARC of CATCHING FIRE, the second in Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy. It was so totally worth every moment of begging and pleading! Despite some of the things I've read, I thought it pulled its weight nicely. It doesn't have the same tight plot-line as the first book, as there is a lot more ground to cover, but the characters and story wrap it all together well. Collins' is really setting something up for book three that is going to Rock. Plus, there's Peeta. I love him. Yeah, yeah, Gale's cool too, but lets be honest here--Peeta just is too nice, too wonderful. If Collins kills him off in the next book, trust me, I'm going to have to, oh I don't know, but it will involve throwing a few books and maybe some sad tweets.

In sum, if you can read this book, do! If you haven't read The Hunger Games #1, so go do it :-)

That wasn't spoiler-y at all, now, was it? :-)

(And in other news, we're moving this Saturday, which means my house is in total disarray and all my books are packed up. Naked shelves kinda creep me out, ya know? The other crazy thing was how many boxes of books we actually ended up with. Holy crap it was a lot! Too many, really, as it took up almost all of our boxes. Bleh, I hate moving!)

Friday Five

By: Meradeth Houston on 8:48 AM

Somehow or another I ended up with a couple of extra minutes before the talk I'm going to. How did that happen? Hmm, must be forgetting to do something, but whatever. Anyhow, here's my five for the day, because I'm being a bit of a lazy blogger :-)

The papers I'm grading have officially all blurred together into a massive lump. The bad news: I don't care. The good news: the cheaters are probably going to get away with it, because I can't tell if I've read something before or not. Hmm, maybe those should be reversed.
The modern part of LOST is beginning to look okay. Or, I think it is at least. The past part, well, that's on the docket for this weekend's writing time. Can't wait!
I really, really wish I were at BEA! Free books? Titles that I can hardly wait another few months for? Waaa! I keep reading all the tweets from there and wishing I was in NY.
My brother gets his time off from the Air Force Academy starting tomorrow. It's only a couple of weeks, but it's going to be great. I've missed the bugger!
We're moving in under a month. Yikes! I can hardly think about all the packing, but the more I think about it, the more excited I am about being closer to the lab and getting work done a little easier (and being able to go home for lunch and not have to stick it out in the lab all day when I have free time to be at home being productive on other things).

I think that's random enough for today! Off to listen to a talk about monkeys and really, really try not to fall asleep!

Bad blogger!

By: Meradeth Houston on 8:51 AM

Somehow the month of May has whizzed passed and I'm honestly not quite sure where it went. My to-do list is still too long, and as the quarter draws to a close, I'm staring down my first real teaching gig with too little preparation. This must change! Granted, this quarter has been the pits. Early classes all week and that seems to put a real damper on getting any "real" work done, other than lab work. I've been humming on the lab hours lately. Revising my paper, and starting in on my lecture slides? Um, no. Mainly because those things get done at home and not on the mini computer, well, just because they don't. I've tried, but then I can't remember where things are and it turns into a mess. Bleh. Anyhow, Monday that'll all change.

Other than that, I've been doing some work on LOST. Finally, finally I feel like I'm making headway on my revisions. Somehow I've added in almost 10k words, and all sorts of goodies. I honestly think it's probably my best writing, so far, which is a really good feeling. Of course, I really hope other people think this, too (umm, like my agent, and an editor who wants to buy it...). Yeah, not going to think about that too much right now. I've got enough on my writing-plate attempting to make the 1/3 of the book set in the Civil War sound more "civil-war-y." Not so sure how I'm going to manage that. I think I need to go watch Gone with the Wind again :-). I found an awesome book with a whole bunch of wood-cut illustrations and pictures from the time-period in one of my fav bookshops in Berkley the other day, and I've been leafing through it, getting good ideas for clothes, and hair, and all the other little details. All I can say is that I am Never writing a full novel set in the past (unless it's some past period I know a lot about, like the height of Anasazi culture in Arizona or something). It's just WAY too much work, and I'm WAY too anal about details.

Also, dh and I are moving into Davis next month. I'm really, really sad to be leaving the ranch. I love it out there! I won't be missing the obnoxious peacocks anytime soon, but being out of the city is just where I belong. Too bad the lab doesn't seem to agree. I need to be closer and attempt to get some stuff done. That, for the time being, is the plan. That is, until dh and I go absolutely nuts with the crazy people who live in Davis.

I'll be back later with an attempt to write up something interesting about the books I've read lately!

Davis SCBWI

By: Meradeth Houston on 3:39 PM

This past Saturday I headed over to the Davis SCBWI conference, looking forward to a day of writerly advice and inspiration, both of which are in short supply and otherwise depleted. The conference had been billed as a good one, and I was looking forward to it. Nathan Bransford was speaking, too, and who can resist that? His blog is sheer awesomeness. Sadly, by about halfway through the day, the beginnings of a migraine kicked in, and by the time the day was over, I really don't know how I made it home. (Yeah, I know, not smart, but oh well. It wasn't like I was thinking clearly, but thankfully it was a safe trip.)

So, the conference wasn't as good as I'd hoped, and this is probably due to me, mostly. That, and the endless submission tips for how to get an agent/editor no longer get my attention quite so easily. I do think some of the talks, namely those on electronic media and promotion, were helpful for those in the audience that don't really spend a lot of time on/around computers (which isn't exactly me, though I do wish I weren't so addicted to my email... :). I'm thinking I need to find a venue that deals more with writing as a craft, more than just writing in general. Maybe that'll get the juices flowing more easily. Of course, extending the day a few extra hours so that I can sleep and eek out ANY writing time right about now sounds great too!

Funnies

By: Meradeth Houston on 2:01 PM

Because I had to endure three hours of the same film during discussion sections, I pulled out my computer and sat in the back of the class, outlining my Plan of Attack for my revisions on LOST. Gah. So much to do, and pretty much no energy to do any of it. But, yeah, I did come across how I plan on beefing up the male lead in the book (well, the one in the present-day thread). He's a funny guy, and likes to kid a lot, which I'm fairly certain doesn't come through at all in the story. Here's the problem: I'm not funny. Like, at all. This is probably more than obvious from everything else I write on here. Still, yeah, not funny. My sister's the funny one. It's kinda sad, actually. I hate it. I wish I could be all witty and tell funny stories that make people laugh, but I just can't do it. Which presents a problem: how does one go about making a character more funny, when the writer is incapable of being that way? I mean, I can put myself in most other situations without too much of a problem, but this one, I don't think will work. *sigh* I'm afraid this guy is doomed to being un-funny. There's got to be a how-to on the net somewhere, but I've yet to find it. Blah.

After Reading

By: Meradeth Houston on 12:33 AM

The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

(Warning, there are some Spoilers below--nothing huge, but just as a heads up!)

Holy moly, I adored these books. I should have sat down to write something about each (or, that was the plan) but I pretty much had to just dive right into the next one. No choice in the matter, really. They were that good. I don't rave about a lot of books that I read, and there have only been a few I've reviewed on here that I've absolutely adored, but these are certainly falling into that category--right behind Hunger Games.

Anyhow, I won't get into the plot or anything--that's what amazon's for--but I will say it was unique and interesting. It swept me up and had me gripping the book, reading so fast just to make sure it was all going to be okay for Clary, Jace, Simon, and the host of other nicely actualized characters. My fav person in the books? Totally Magnus Bane. His antics and outfits had me in stitches. I've read a few other reviews of this book and am amazed at how many people have fallen for Simon. Now, don't get me wrong, he's a great guy, but it was totally Jace through the whole thing. Even with the kinda creepy incest thing going on. I knew it wasn't going to work out so that he was really related (duh). I'm afraid it's always going to be the dark and mysterious guy in books that I'm going to root for--it's not real life, therefore I don't have to make the "responsible" choice :-).

So there are a couple of things that I kept thinking while reading, that I would have done differently. I'm not sure they're weaknesses, just difference in taste. Anyhow, I would have loved these books to be in first person. I enjoyed the different character points of view quite a bit, especially in the last book, but it would have been fun, and provided some needed character insight into Clary's head. Or, maybe I just love first-person. The other thing was that there were a few circumstances where it felt like the characters were just meandering. Big stuff would happen and some of the resulting actions felt a little contrived. I'm still not sure why they bothered going to the Seelie court, for example (other than it provided a way for a most interesting kiss scene).

So, yeah, I'll be re-reading these. Very, very fun. Highly recommended to anyone who's looking for a fun read!

(On another note--it's supposed to be close to 100F here today. Welcome summer! It always amuses me that California has two seasons: winter rain and cold, and summer blasting heat. Nothing in between. And some places are still getting snow!)

Amusing things of late

By: Meradeth Houston on 8:37 AM

I'm too tired to really think about a constructive post here, but here are a few things that have amused me lately:

The giant cardboard sign outside my building proclaiming "Young Hall is a MORGUE!" Left by our friendly neighborhood Native Americans. Yep, I dig up your ancestors and study them! (I know I'm being culturally insensitive here, but really, #1, they're not actually related unless you go back 8,000 years or more, and #2, how else are we supposed to know about these people? Want to know about your ancestors? Well, we're going to have to study them! #3, I don't discriminate, I'd be happy to look at people from other areas, too, not just the Americas.)
Older people who don't know what "teabagging" is and are using is liberally, like it doesn't have a really gross meaning. Ahh, gotta love me some lolz.
Not funny, but I'm adoring the Mortal Instruments series! Future blog on this, but I haven't been able to put them down.
Have I mentioned how much I'm looking forward to the new x-men movie? I can't wait!! A clear indication of my total geekiness.
Dried cherries. I love thee! (but they don't love me, especially when I'm not thinking about it and eat way, way too many. Um. Bad.)
I ordered some PTC taste-test papers the other day, and tried them out on my lab-mates. Awesome reactions. I may just have to record using them on my students this summer. It's awesome. (Think making a bunch of people suck on something a million times more bitter than a lemon. Hahah!)

I know I'm forgetting something here, but whatever. I need to get back to work!

After Reading

By: Meradeth Houston on 3:16 AM

Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen by Tamora Pierce

In the past, I read most of the Wild Magic quartet and totally adored it. The remainder of the series is now waiting in my TBR pile (the one that threatens my life as I sit here at my desk). So when I found both of these books in the library sale pile, I was ecstatic. Pierce is a genius and I love her world she's created and used throughout her several series. It's fun, it's got magic, and romance, and all sorts of great characters. I launched into these fully expecting to love them. Sadly, that just wasn't the case. I read them, and both had really good, satisfying endings, but I really couldn't get behind the main character.

I spent most of the second book trying to figure out just what it was that had me so bored with her and the whole situation. The set-up was great--revolution, war, corrupt rulers and a queen trying to regain her throne with the aid of a really smart, adept spy (Aly). It's just that, well, it was too pat. Aly was always a step ahead and I never saw her really struggle. I don't particularly want to read a book about someone who can handle every curve-ball thrown at them--it's boring! I found myself rooting for the opposition about halfway through the second book, just so I could see Aly squirm and have to find a new, creative way out of the mess.

Here's the other thing I thought about while reading: making that MC identifiable for the reader. A character that's so strong, so smart, so cunning, that it's almost annoying? There's no way any teen (let alone adult!) who's going to be able to feel like they can get behind her and root for her. She doesn't really need rooting for! Now, don't get me wrong--I love strong female (and male!) characters. Capable young/older women who know what they're doing and work to do it. But there's a fine line between being a strong character and being one that's just too strong, leaving the reader to just feel like they're following along, not really pushing for her (or him) to figure it all out. It creates a lack of conflict, and a lack of interest. That's what really made me frustrated.

Anyhow, that's my take. Hubby bought me City of Bones for my b-day and I honestly can't wait to read it!

Doncha love it when

By: Meradeth Houston on 7:52 AM

You go back and read a WIP that was left by the wayside and realize it's not total crap? Last night I did some back reading on the WIP that was abandoned for revisions and was happy to find that it's not too terrible. Well, there's a lot to fix, and I've been brainstorming things I want to change for the past month while not up to my eyeballs in Travelers, but there's a good story there. I kinda like it. Which is probably a good thing considering I really would like to finish the dang thing!

In Which I Attempt to Remain Positive...

By: Meradeth Houston on 1:55 PM

I'm feeling quite blah at the moment, which is probably a good sign that I should step away from the computer, but I'm really needing to write, so I'm going to do my best to highlight some of the good things going on right now. Yeah. Right. It may be a bit of a stretch, but I'm giving it my best shot:

There is a pair of red-tailed hawks nesting in the giant pine tree in front of my house. This is absolutely amazing. Really. The parents are constantly circling outside my window and there is nothing cooler than watching these huge, magnificent raptors fly. This probably has something to do with my obsession with winged-things, but hey, it's cool. I need to find a way to see the babies without disturbing anything.
I haven't heard anything back from my agent about my revisions. Yeah, I know it's too soon to start biting my nails. I'm still paranoid and repeating to myself that no news is good news. And here I thought waiting on queries was bad...
Grant money! I got the official word today that I was awarded the NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant. This is totally utterly awesome. It still biggles my mind a little that people want to give me money to do science with, but hey, I'm not going to refuse it! This brings my grand total of grant $$ to more than I make in a year. It's a little strange. And I'm so going to buy like every color of sharpie the next time I go to the supply shop!
It looks like I will be moving into Davis. This is sorta good, as I need to be closer to the lab. I'm just not going to get into what I think of Davis as a whole.
My little brother will be coming home this weekend. It's only for 24 hours, and it's to help my mom move back out to be my neighbor, but it's always good to see him. Miss the little bugger!

Okay, enough positives. Things are okay. Knock on wood and all that jazz. Now I'm going to go try and write. It's been a week and I need to get myself back on this horse!

Birthdayness

By: Meradeth Houston on 11:10 AM

I've been a bad blogger. Too much going on, and all that--you know how it is :-). Today hasn't been much of an exception, but I feel kinda guilty not posting. Plus, it's my birthday so I'm cutting myself some slack and going to take a few minutes. Not that there's much of anything exciting going on. I did send in the preliminary outcome of all my revisions to my agent today--whohoo! Here's to hoping she likes them. (I'm really trying hard not to stress about that. Not doing so great at it either. Eeek!) That's a huge load off though, and I'm happy about it. Other than that, it's time for dinner with the fam. I plan on eating a lot of shrimp! Okay, off to Old Sac!

Chivalry

By: Meradeth Houston on 1:13 PM

I don't know why I'm thinking about this today, but here goes a stab at some deep thoughts. Be afraid. Be very afraid. :-)

Someone on facebook was asking the question of why Twilight has gotten so popular, which got me thinking. (Yeah, okay, so I've been on a Twilight kick lately--the movie just came out and it's been fun reading while doing revisions, as reading anything new is pretty much out of the option until I get this manuscript back to my agent.) Today, something kind of came together about why I like the book, and why there's some appeal there. Most females, when asked, say they like the book because of Edward. I'll admit it, I'd agree. But why is he so appealing? He's immortal, polite, kind, thoughtful, tries to be self-sacrificing, and will pretty much do anything for Bella. Who doesn't want that? And this is what I started to wonder--so many of these things that Edward embodies have completely fallen by the wayside in today's society.

Let me elaborate some more. Chivalry is dead. There's no real getting around that. Some guys might hang on to vestiges of it, but for the most part, getting a guy to open the door for you? Not stare at your boobs while teaching? Watch swearing around you? Stand when you enter/exit a room? Ummm, no. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty staunch feminist. I don't want some guy treating me like I'm a fragile female who can't do anything. I mean, I'm a scientist here, working on my PhD. I can do anythin a male can. Trust me. This doesn't mean that I don't appreciate a little chivalry though. I adore it when someone opens the door for me, and when someone is polite to me (and this isn't just directed at a male-female sort of chivalry; same thing applies for general politeness between anyone).

In today's society, this kind of politeness has been dying for ages, spurred on some by women who view it as demoralizing (and this isn't to say that I'm not grateful for these women who made it possible for me to be in grad school and considered an equal with men). But I still like the little kindnesses. In Twilight, Edward remembers these things. He likes to open the door for Bella, for crying out loud! I wish my husband would do this for me, without me feeling stupid. I wish these little things hadn't died out. So for me, reading about someone who remembers what it was like to treat someone like a Lady, well, that's pretty damn romantic. It makes me wonder that girls are reading these books and finding that little spark of liking to be treated as special within them. It's just a thought, but at least to me it makes sense.

I honestly don't see a problem between being a hard-nosed scientist and being ladylike. I just wish I could train my husband to remember that for all my show of being strong, I'd still like to be treated like a woman, even if that means having someone open the door for me. Really, is that too much to ask?

What do you think? (And dang, this is a loooong post...)

Website

By: Meradeth Houston on 4:30 AM

Late, late last night hubby and I managed to put up what we have of my website. It's now actually visible to other people! I know it has some kinks to work out (like why on earth the home page doesn't want to center itself, or why the quote I put on there isn't showing up...), but I'm pretty stoked. Check it out and let me know what you think!

www.meradethhouston.com

And a MAJOR thanks to my awesome hubby for all his work!

Pics

By: Meradeth Houston on 4:01 PM

I managed to guilt-trip hubby into helping me with my website tonight. It's going to be pretty basic, but I really am loving it. So, while hunting down some pics for it this evening, I can across two that I *adore*!! I've never really been one of those writers who creates cover art for my manuscripts (though I love seeing other people's), mainly because I know they'll never be what ends up on the front of the book. Still, tonight, I saw these two shots and really, really wanted them as my cover art! (Yanno, if my book is actually ever picked up and all...)

(This just makes me think of Sienna and Henry, trying to hang on to one another, knowing that everything's going to fall apart.)

(This is Sienna to a 'T'! Walking that fine line. LOVE it!!)

Notice the train theme? Yeah, that comes from my favorite description of the time-travel that Sienna and Henry can do:

“Time has always reminded me of railroad tracks, with one big train--reality I guess you could call it. There’s only one train, going along one of the tracks. You can be going along fine, until someone throws a switch, and you’re on a completely different course, headed who knows where. One change and you’re in a different reality.”

I laughed. “Yeah, that makes sense. Sorta. I wish someone would throw the switch back, and put this train back on course.” I winced as the words left my mouth. As much as I wanted back in my reality, it meant something very different for Henry.

Quite a fun distraction tonight!

Spring Break...

By: Meradeth Houston on 7:55 AM

And what am I doing? Working at the lab, of course! Not that I can really complain. Campus is nice and empty, the lab is quiet, and I can get caught up on a bunch of stuff. (That, and I can't stare at my manuscript any more right now. It's resting. Shhh!) Of course, I'd really rather be, oh, anywhere else at the moment though. Doing something fun, letting myself relax. That's just not my life though.

Yesterday I experimented with new drimel bits to remove the roots from teeth in the most efficient manner. Sitting at my kitchen table, staring down at one of my old wisdom teeth, I realized I'm just a little strange. Even worse was trying to find the right kind of tool to do this at Home Depot. The guy would NOT let me go without telling him what I needed a "small saw" for. When I told him, I swear he thought I was an axe-murderer. Other that how disturbing that is, its made me laugh ever since :-). Gotta love ancient DNA though--I get to do some crazy fun stuff! Even during spring break.

Round Two

By: Meradeth Houston on 11:28 AM

I think, think I might have just finished Round Two of revisions. I've been through the whole book again, layering in more character development, and little quirks and stuff. I really hope I've pulled it off. At this point, I'm kind of tempted to beg someone to read it. Anyone game? I'm not sure if it's working, and I know if I stare at it any more it's probably going to get worse than better. I'm always up for a trade :-)

"I hate the living..."

By: Meradeth Houston on 2:57 AM

Though I totally love MIB. Yes, this is a quote from the movie, though I regularly employ it to describe why I work with dead people. Not fresh-dead and potentially stinky, but long dead and I'm just getting bones and teeth. But, after last night, I'm thinking any dead person would be better than some of the freshmen in my class.

The final for ANT1 is coming up tomorrow. It's a giant test, cumulative, and downright terrible. I know it. The other TA's know it. So what did we do, being nice people and all that? We set up an extra review session of course! Last night, three of us TA's took two hours out of our limited free time to answer questions about any of the material that was going to be on the test. Can you see where this is going? Well, apparently, a few of the students weren't so happy about this. One asked if we'd do a lecture instead, covering the material. Well, seeing as how that wasn't going to answer people's questions, and we hadn't put together a lecture (how to you do a two hour lecture on something we've been talking about for ten weeks?), we said no. Got questions? We're here to answer them. The guy got up and left. Whatever.

Now, when I got home last night, I had a lovely string of emails in my inbox, one in particular from this nasty beast of a student, telling us we had done a terrible job, it was completely useless, and to top it off, we were "freakishly arrogant." I about died laughing. Yep, I should have expected it. Apparently the students who came to the review expected us to hand out answers. To spoon feed them what was going to be on the test. Since WHEN is that college? It was never like that when I was in school. It's not like that anywhere I know of. Yeah, I might hand out hints, but I'm not going to tell people about what's going to be on the exam. Sorry.

My favorite part come from the chat room the website has set up. One of the "lovely young ladies" (read: me trying to be nice) decided to comment on us, noting especially the sarcastic TA who sat in back and cackled at people's questions. Part of me is totally hurt. Part of me honestly can't stop laughing at this. Cackling? Oh dear, I wish I could do that better. More people would see it if I could. I did step back for the first part of the session, mainly because the questions being asked were part of the head TA's specialty, and she knew the material better. Any laughing on my part was joking with the other TA that we didn't know the answer. Later on though, I got to field all the questions pertaining to genetics and cultural/biological variation, which are my areas. Currently, I'm tempted to email the chick and let her know that hey, guess what, I did read what she said. It would be Oh SO Satisfying!

Okay, this is the end of my vent. I needed to get it off my chest. Some students really just need to learn that this is the real world, and you have to work for what you get. Until they realize that, keep their damn mouths shut!

Whoever thought I was qualified...

By: Meradeth Houston on 7:28 AM

To write a book? To teach a class? They were honestly full of crap. Well, that's what I'm thinking right now. I just heard that I will be teaching a class this summer here at UCD. Aside from being really, really excited, I'm also really, really scared. It's going to be a TON of work, but I get to do whatever I want. As in, fix all the dumb stuff that I've hated as the TA for this course over the past few years. Still, I'm having a mild panic attack thinking that I'll be in charge. No one else to blame for the crappy stuff that will inevitably happen. Okay, must breathe. I will be okay.

On the revisions front, I hope things are going okay. At this point, I have no idea. I'm to chapter 10 on round two, adding little character traits and other stuff to flesh out my characters and make them more lovable. The male lead in the story has totally revealed to me that he digs different languages, and because he's a time-traveler, it's a useful trait. And, ya know, he's got all the time he wants to learn them all. It's been fun, though I've spent a lot of time on Babel Fish. Thank heavens that between hubby and I we speak a few languages that I've been able to mine :-).

Okay, back to work!

Round One

By: Meradeth Houston on 12:14 PM

I just finished my first major pass through on my revisions. I rewrote three chapters, added 5,000 words, and then cut about as many. I fixed several major plot points, added a nasty murder, and gave some more motivations to one of the characters. My brain hurts. Now, it's on to the hard part. I worked hard on fleshing out my characters more this round, but I know now I really have to do it. I've been trying to brainstorm good ways to make them leap off the page more, but I'm kinda at a loss. I've looked through blogs, BB threads, etc. I know these people really well, but I honestly don't think that's showing up on the page.

Does anyone have any good ideas for making sure your characters are well fleshed out throughout the story? I'd love to hear them!

Therapy

By: Meradeth Houston on 1:27 PM

A half hour on the phone, giving my mother time to talk is a fairly normal part of every day for me. Sometimes I think I missed my true calling in life--I could be getting paid for doing this kind of thing. Still, it's a little strange to be the married one, giving my mother dating advice. Not that this role-reversal is anything new, but sometimes it really hits me. What on earth would it be like if I had parents like me, willing to listen, and try not to judge? (I'm not trying to knock on my mom here, but heaven forbid she should stumble upon my blog!) My conclusion for right now is that I would probably be a whole lot more sane, but I doubt I'd be a writer. That's quite a trade-off really. I'm not sure what I'd pick.

The naked nightmare

By: Meradeth Houston on 9:16 AM

I'm never had one--you know where you show up to class, or other important locale, and realize you've forgotten to get dressed (or some other permutation that leaves you naked for everyone to see). However, after today, I'm pretty sure real life has made up for that lack of nighttime duress.

Today was the last day of discussion section. I spent a considerable amount of time getting ready for it too, and especially went over the sample questions the students had been given so I could give them the correct answers and explain why they were right, etc. Somehow, though, only three of the pages printed, and little did I know that I ended up missing about 30 of the sample questions. Awesome. So there I was, in front of the room, everyone wanting me to go through the rest of the questions that I'd never looked at before. Now, let me point out that this class covers a LOT of information, and a good deal of it is on topics that bore me to death. So I got to spend a half hour "taking" the test in front of the students, so they would have the answers. The questions were hard enough already, but in front of everyone? Impossible. I'm fairly sure that has to of been my absolute worst class I've ever taught. Totally sounded like an idiot (honestly--who cares what size brain Australiopithecus kabbada had? I don't. I know I should, being the TA and all, but yeah, I don't care. Never will. Sorry.). Oh well. My only consolation is that the class had already completed their evaluations of me for the quarter, so none of this will go on them. GAH.

crossing over to the dark side

By: Meradeth Houston on 11:49 AM

Oh dear, I've officially signed up for Twitter. Another awesome way to waste time. Still, it's quite fun! Now, if only I could get back to work...

Come find me: http://twitter.com/merbear95695

Character comparisons

By: Meradeth Houston on 1:02 AM

I finished off Pride and Prejudice last night after deciding that it just had to be read. I enjoyed it a lot, though still found it to be a lot like wading through knee-deep water; there's a lot of verbage that makes me take slow steps and constantly be on guard that I'm going to loose my shoes in the sticky bottom. I have the distinct feeling this has to do with having read too much YA recently, as I've gotten use to the fast-paced, get to the point style that typifies the genera. It was fun, and what's not to love about Mr. Darcy?

What did get me thinking was how I tend to start comparing characters (especially when there are multiple ones, like the five sisters) to people in real life. I honestly know a Lydia in real life (not that I'd ever tell her that), and I'm fairly certain I can call someone else a Kitty. I really worry I come off a whole lot like Mary too much, just because I really am always studying. Not that I try to be obnoxious or arrogant about it or anything. I think most people would like to be like Elizabeth the most, though I think I'd rather be like Jane--sweet and unassuming, willing to see the best in everything.

Which character suites you best?

10 minutes...

By: Meradeth Houston on 3:50 AM

Until my last lecture of the week. And then I have two hours (technically they're office hours where my students can come by and see me, but let's be honest, I have seen exactly 6 students all quarter, and most of those were repeats), where I am holing myself up in my office and making a Plan of Attack. My manuscript will be better for it. I, on the other hand, may not be. The scale of what I need to do scares me spit-less. I keep repeating to myself "I CAN do this" though, at the moment, I really don't know. Eeeks!

Yowza

By: Meradeth Houston on 5:42 AM

I just received my revisions from my agent on Travelers. Yikes. I've got some serious work to do! Thank heavens spring break is coming up and I'll have all the time I need to dig into this draft and pretty much rip it to pieces. Again. Ahh, the joy that is revising. Now I've got to brainstorm some ways to amp up Sienna's character and ensure she doesn't go "flat" half way through. Um, yeah. Ooops.

TGIF

By: Meradeth Houston on 7:34 AM

It's Friday. I've finished my lab work for the day, my quota of papers to grade all have scores, and I have a half hour in which I should be doing some academic reading, but, yeah, it's Friday. So here's some randomness for you:

Favorite quote from student's paper today: "As you run through the open grasslands, you see hundreds of different species...fighting for resources and sexual domination." I was seriously glad not to be drinking anything when I read this as I would have squirted it out my nose. Ahhh, nothing like a little animal dominatrix to lighten your day.
I will admit that having hubby jump on the scales today and announce gleefully that he'd down 10 pounds (after dieting for a week and not doing any trips to the gym) totally ticked me off. Men. UGH!
I had an awesome dream last night about being chased by the cops. Ran through backyards, etc., and ended up working at Starbucks as my cover to get away from them (says the girl who doesn't drink coffee). I woke, adrenaline pumping, wondering where the heck that came from?
I'm reading a crit-buddy's manuscript at the moment and Loving it. I can't wait for it to come out so I can gleefully tell everyone I got to read it first!
We're gearing up for some new samples here in the lab. Apparently the Mimbres culture placed elaborately painted bowls (which is what they're known for) over the faces of their dead. These bowls, upon excavation, have some smudges on them the archaeologist is sure is dried on human flesh. Guess what he wants me to get DNA out of? I'm torn between totally grossed out and intrigued--it would be a great way to bypass the problems I have working with the human remains themselves. Still, um, icky! I'm sure you wanted to know all that!

So, that's what's up in a nutshell. Oh, and WIP is sorta back on track. I have some serious plans for draft #2, but I need to finish this one first!

Comfort Books

By: Meradeth Houston on 11:34 AM

You know you have one, maybe even more than one. It's like dark chocolate, or maybe Ben and Jerry's ice-cream when you really need it (cue Bridget Jones here). Last night I was feeling a like a good book, but not something new--something that I already know how it ends and how much I'll love it, even if I've read it twenty times or more. For me, the best is A Wrinkle In Time, which I've read so many times my old copy is tattered and frayed (though I'll never let it go!). Lately Twilight has been another fun one I like to pick up and flip open to a page, getting into the story and sighing like a sixteen year-old all over again :-) I know Twilight has plenty of people who didn't like it, but I'm not one of them. Another lab-rat at work has just discovered them and has been devouring them between term papers, filling me in on where she is every day and discussing the movie at length. She wasn't a "big reader" before the books (her own words), so no matter what, I think they're doing some good. And let's be honest here, who doesn't like some hot vampires? Tehehe!

So, comfort books--gotta love 'em. What are yours?

After Reading

By: Meradeth Houston on 12:52 AM

Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan

Nope, haven't been slacking on these, just haven't been reading as much as normal. I'll admit, this book took a long time for me to get into, and with no drive to sit and read, well, it got thrown on the back burner for a bit. But, finally, I got into it last night, and as I was feeling very blah about my own writing, I decided to forgo my normal hour writing time and finish the dang thing. Anyhow, here are a few things I really liked:

The world building was great, and for once, I felt that the faeries were given the platform they needed, with an explanation of where they were coming from, and other information that I've found to be generally lacking from other faery-lore. I don't know, do other authors expect the reader to know all that stuff? I never did, and I think that's why I generally don't find myself attracted to faery books.
I adored the attention to historical detail. I hate it when I read a book and I find myself second-guessing the author, wondering if her facts are right. Here, I didn't feel that way at all.
Deven's character was great--he felt very real to me, and I particularly loved his reaction to finding out about the faeries. Fun! Oh and the Goodsmead sisters were wonderful :-)

A few things that bugged me:

The whole love story at the end with Lune and Deven was very forced. I couldn't believe it and wished it had just been left out, even with the plot holes it would have created.
The first hundred pages or more made me really wonder why I was reading this book. At about page 150 I was pulled in enough to care about the characters and found myself wondering why the book didn't just start there. I hate saying this about a book, but it was true.
The end was rushed--all those pages at the beginning to set things up, and then the end was a whirlwind of a ton of things happening with no time to enjoy them. Maybe I should just place this all under "Pacing" as a problem.

That about sums up my feelings for this book. It was rather fun to read that the author is a PhD student in anthropology (my field), so kudos for that! Now, back to work for me.

Tuesday Blahs

By: Meradeth Houston on 11:19 AM

While in The Land of the Old, hubby, grandparents, and I headed out to the links for a round of golf. Actually, I got to watch and drive the golf cart (by far the most fun part of golfing, other than enjoying the sunshine). While tootling around, watching my 85 year old grandfather kick my husband's butt at the game, hubby made an interesting comment (I wish I could remember what we were talking about though I do remember wondering where the heck the comment came from), basically saying I couldn't complain about my writing sucking again because now I had to know it wasn't true. Uh-huh. I laughed at him then, and I still have to chuckled at it. I mean, honestly, is there such a time that worries of sucking ever go away? Honestly, I'd like to know. Right now, I can't even bring myself to open my projects file. Everything sucks and I find myself wondering what I'm doing playing at this game. WIP is boring even me, and I'm writing it. Everything else I've got going seems dull and flat. I've read so many wonderful books that I can't begin to compare my own meager attempts to what's out there. UGH. It's enough to make a girl crazy!

How do I make this feeling go away? I wish I knew. Right now it's going to take some chocolate and an evening away from the computer.

It's always an adventure

By: Meradeth Houston on 1:41 AM

Hubby and I decided to make the trek to visit my grandparents this weekend. They currently are staying in Palm Springs, which is, as my grandfather puts is, heaven's waiting room. I get the feeling this must be what a lot of Florida looks like, but they at least have a beach. Granted, it's quite ritzy here, and there are a lot of fun things to do.

So, on the way down here, just as we were trying to leave LA, our car died. On the freeway. Totally dead. With lots of cars whizzing past and a giant semi bearing down on us. I'll admit it, I screamed. (Have you ever seen the movie Clueless? You know the part where the MC's best friend is learning to drive in LA, and she accidentally gets in the freeway? Everyone is driving like they just got out of a mental hospital. Sad, and very true of LA traffic.) Anyhow, after coasting to the side of the road, the car thankfully started right back up. So far, nothing else has happened, and every mechanic we've taken it to (about five so far) has said there is nothing we can do until it breaks down again. Yiippee! So, tomorrow we start the nine hour trek back home, newly purchased AAA towing insurance in the back, and pray we make it. Ahhh, it's always an adventure.

Rainy Days

By: Meradeth Houston on 3:18 AM

Today and yesterday have been really stormy here in NorCal. I love the rain, so it's been quite nice. And I've managed to find the time to get some serious writing done. I'm feeling very productive :-) 60k mark was hit this morning, and my WIP is on the home stretch. Well, so long as I don't think about how much polishing it's going to require (if my agent even likes it, that is). My website is also taking shape, too, though there needs to be some changes (and I'm still befuddled as to why it only seems to like internet explorer, but nothing else...). At the moment, it's time to return to the "real" world and do some studying, joy of joys!

How do you spell it? (Meradeth, that is :-)

By: Meradeth Houston on 2:01 PM

Meradeth, that is. I'm sitting here, brainstorming with hubby, trying to decide the most "normal" way to spell my name. Because I honestly have seen it just about every which way:
Meredith
Meradith
Meridith
Meredeth
(LJ has given me a few more options to: Meredithe & Megadeath--haha!)
and on, and on, and on... Yeah. It kinda sucks. Personally, I think they way my parents spelled it (or mis-spelled it) makes the most sense. It's very phonetic. But if I use it as my pen name, then what? I'm back to the same problem that led me to trying to find another first name to use, which has been the endless circle of discussion around here. That being said, I'm really just leaning towards:

Meradeth Houston

Your thoughts are very much appreciated!

What is in a name?

By: Meradeth Houston on 8:19 AM

How does one go about picking a pen name? I've thought about this before, but brushed it off as one of those things I'd think about when it might actually matter. Now, I want to get a website going, and I need to have something! Yikes. Anyhow, I know what I want to use for my last name, but for a first name I'm drawing a total blank. Something simple, easy to spell, and a touch unique. Hmmm. I like "m" names (yeah, go figure :) but nothing seems to fit.

This is one of those things that was way easier as a kid--I remember making lists of names I liked better than my own. So, if anyone has some tips on this, I'd love to hear them!

One Year Out

By: Meradeth Houston on 12:29 AM

I've been thinking a lot lately about the fact that it's been a year since I took my Qualifying Exams. Pretty crazy, really. I can't believe that much time has passed. I honestly thought I'd be closer to getting the freak out of Davis at this point, but so goes the insanity of grad school--it can suck time like nothing else. I shouldn't complain too much though, I have a job I like, my co-workers rock, and I have some sweet samples to work with (starting on some Mimbres samples today, whohoo! Strange that it feels like Christmas :-). Still, it's been a full year. So, that got me thinking of all the junk I've been doing in the past year:

Gave talks at two international conferences, which were well-received.
Have an academic paper submitted, and am now doing the last of its revisions.
22 more samples with data.
Wrote and edited a full book.
Got an agent!
Applied for two grants--got one, and the other is looking good (though pending).
Am in much better shape, thanks to the the prodding of best friend who drags me to the gym every night.

I think I need to be nicer to myself. That's a pretty good list, and seeing as how that's the highlights (and doesn't count the trillion hours I've spent grading exams, reading good books, working on the WIP, or spending time with hubby and fam), things are okay. I'm not going to beat myself up that I haven't lost 15 pounds, gotten another paper ready, been more academically inclined, etc. It's just not worth it.

Yayness!

By: Meradeth Houston on 9:42 AM

I need some better way to describe how psyched I am at the moment, but I honestly can't think straight enough to be creative. I'm super stoked! I can now share my good news: I have accepted representation from Elizabeth Jote! Whohoo! (I honestly wish my body would cooperate with me more here--I'm barely mobile today and long to crash in bed and forget the trillion things to do!) Anyhoo, we had a nice long talk on the phone today, and I've been thinking about this for a week or more, so I went with it! It still hasn't actually sunk in yet. I don't know if it will, at least for a good long time. I honestly don't have to query any more. Holy freaking cow. How sweet is THAT?

(Yes, I realize that now all the fun work is starting, but let's not rain on my parade just yet. I can dwell on the possibilities of not selling later. Must later. If ever. Haha!)

And now off to eat pizza and trying to keep my sinuses from sealing shut. How's that for imagery? :-)

(Oh, hey, can anyone tell me why on earth sitemeter keeps creating this giant sqare of blank space? I have no idea how to change that and it's making me batty!)

After Reading

By: Meradeth Houston on 12:22 AM

A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby

So one of the fundamental problems I have with multi-POV books is that I always love one or some of the characters more than others. I found this to be true with Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and once again with this book. Don't get me wrong--each of the characters is essential to the story, and their interesting in their own right, but I can't identify with some of them and end up wishing the story were entirely told from the character I like best. It's always struck me as one of those "can't serve two masters" kind of things, but perhaps that's stretching the metaphor :-) Anyhow, this book has four main characters and the story shifts around between them, telling how they basically don't commit suicide and learn to cope with their problems. In the hands of anyone else, this would be a total downer of a book, by Hornby makes it funny and light. Still, it's about four people that have huge problems, so I found myself a little depressed in parts of it. Overall, it was a good read, but probably not something I'll pick up again. I will have to check out some other Hornby books though!

5k

By: Meradeth Houston on 1:56 AM

This morning my best friend and I were up before dawn, in the foggy cold, to go run the Davis Stampede. It probably wasn't the smartest thing I've done, seeing as how I've somehow caught a dirty little bug that makes me feel like crap, but exercising always makes me feel better, so I did it anyhow. We weren't in it for times, but we did pretty well considering she needed to walk some of the way. It was a great morning, and I love the energy from all the people up and running together. Plus, all the cool free stuff is fun too :-)

update

By: Meradeth Houston on 12:08 AM

Sooooo, no email yesterday. No call. No nothing. I'm a tinsy bit frustrated at the moment, because if a decision needs to be made, I need to know what these people are thinking. And really, what I'm thinking is that was my answer--nada. Grrr.

I really should stop being cryptic, but I'm finding it oddly fun.

Oh, and I finally figured out SiteMeter (okay, in my defense, I'd never taken the time), but now I'm having fun messing around with it :)

Going crazy

By: Meradeth Houston on 6:07 AM

I honestly don't think I've checked my email this much, EVER. I can't stop staring at it, willing the little icon to switch from "0" to "1." It really can't be healthy. At the same time, my stomach is twisted in knots, and I'm not really sure I want the email I know is coming sometime during the next 24 hours. Either way, the good news still stands, but things might be getting a little interesting.

How's THAT for cryptic?

Must. Get. Some. Work. Done.

After Reading

By: Meradeth Houston on 12:34 AM

The pranks. They were awesome. Coming from a family of pranksters (and never being the best one at it) I totally loved them and had a good laugh at each. Especially "In The Ladies We Trust."
Frankie's attitude. As I mentioned, she's really a strong female character, and her questioning of those things around us that may seem so innocent, but really are out-dated and nasty ways of putting down women, are great.
The voice was totally spot-on. Very teen, and very funny. I love laughing in books, and I giggled my way through most of this.

Really, there was only one thing that kind of bothered me about this book: I didn't like the end all that much. It felt a little forced, like the reader is being forced to see Frankie in a specific way (and I honestly didn't enjoy the way she was characterized--I think it is very possible for women to be strong and defy social norms without being seen as a little 'crazy'). The ending made me step back and go "well, Frankie, I honestly hope you come out better than how your author thinks you might."

Anyhoo, this is definite Must-Read, and I really enjoyed it!

Funnies

By: Meradeth Houston on 6:38 AM

Oh dear, it seems to be the week of randomness! I'm still living on cloud nine, but trying to be rational, adult-like, etc. Haha! Anyhow, this is my random email from the day:

Hi Meradeth,

I was just writing you because I have a minor request of you. I would appreciate it if you used more inclusive language such as "you all" because I noticed you use the phrase "you guys" rather excessively.

Ummmm, yeah. Apparently I'm playing into the male patriarchal system, or something? I don't know. I need to come up with something to write this person back, but right now, I'm thinking that incorporating a whole lot of 'y'all' in my vocab might be in order (many thanks to Debbie for this brilliant idea--I must work on my Southern accent!).

Super amazing awesome good news

By: Meradeth Houston on 3:50 AM

This will be posted here soon, but let's just say that I can hardly sit still, and I don't know what to do with myself! Two long years of working towards this, and it was SOOO worth it!

(also, in terrible need of advice--if you've got a minute, email me please! I need brains to pick!)