Patchwork Quilt

Pink Think: "Use a make-up table with everything close at hand and don't rush; otherwise you'll look like a patchwork quilt." - Lucille Ball

Photo from what-me.com

First of all, just in case you are wondering, I am not doing National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this year. (Are you? How is it going?) That's because I have a story that has taken a hold of me and wouldn't let go, and I started it well before this month.

It's been several years' worth of work, as it turns out.

***
I was looking for an old manuscript of mine called The Spanish Exile, which is a historical swashbuckling novel set in Spain and the Philippines, my first real attempt at a novel from four or so years ago.

I can't find it. Which worries me because as bad as first novels go, it was a finished draft. I must have gotten rid of it at one point - several points? - in my writing career when I was very discouraged.

Instead I found various attempts of the same multicultural YA story that has gone by different titles and in various states of polishing. It's about as organized if I had tossed these papers in the air and piled them together.

Hodge podge. Mishmash. A patchwork quilt. But it must be an important enough story to me I've tried to get it out to the world numerous times.

Can this manuscript be saved? Stay tuned.

***
Do YOU have a story or project like that? One that wouldn't let you go?

God's Gift To Me

Pink Think: "You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them." - Desmond Tutu

A friend of mine commented that my blog doesn't seem to have a whole lot of photos to go with stories of my kids. I agreed. Kind of a conscious decision on my part to not put them up on display I guess.

I mean...they do some really cute things, like the other day, I was putting something in the laundry sorter and I heard a step behind me which I assumed was my husband's. So I say, to continue a discussion we had earlier, "Do you think someone scared of a lot of things is wimpy or just has an overactive imagination?" And I hear a "Huh?" from my son.

I could go on and on and on.

But toddler-cute is different than tween-cute or teen-cute. Somehow, it feels more invasive of their privacy to quote them to strangers. Thus I have become more circumspect about them.

***
That said, here is a photo and post I would like to share with anyone who will care to listen. Because as proud as I am of my writings or achievements from my halcyon days and not-so-halcyon days, what I am most proud of is this:


This family photo was taken this past Sunday. The warm sheen comes from the setting sun and the happy occasion.

That day, my son (who just turned 12) was ordained a deacon in the LDS/Mormon church. Just look at how he is soon going to surpass us (okay, me) in height. I took him shopping for shoes the other day yet again; he outgrows them every two months. Big shoes to match his big heart.

That day, my little one in the middle pouted because I told her to please change back into her dress for a family picture. I could just kiss her all day; that's her privilege as the youngest. And she knows it.

That day, my oldest daughter received her Young Women (church) medallion - equivalent to Eagle in Scouts. She is down-to-earth, works hard but enjoys life, and tries to do the right thing. How did she get this way at 14? I sure wasn't at that age.

My husband...I flit around like a butterfly and he is always waiting patiently. He knows better than to catch me in his fist. He gives generously and I bask in the warmth of his love and acceptance.

Pardon my gushing but my heart is full.

Ten Scary Things

Pink Think: "Everybody in their own imagination decides what scary is." - Yvonne Craig

Photo from people.howstuffworks.com

In the spirit of Halloween, and in reply to the awards that Jessica of Cougar Tales, LeSan of Blue Gate Gardens and Georgie of Author's Desk have bestowed upon me (thank you!) here is a list of ten things that scare me:

1. Ghosts and ghost stories. As a child, my relatives always treated us to scary stories at family gatherings.

2. Heights. I don't like climbing ladders or going on roofs.

3. Covers over my head. I get claustrophobic.

4. That when I come home from vacation, I would find my house burned down. When we round that corner and I see my house intact, I breathe a sigh of relief.

5. Being stranded on an island without dental floss

6. Head hunting tribes

7. Buildings without a thirteenth floor. My mind keeps wanting to search for that missing floor.

8. My husband appearing behind me as though from nowhere. He just has to walk up to me and I jump! I am always accusing the poor thing of sneaking up on me.

9. Nightmares where I do something dastardly. And I wake up guilty. (What a relief to realize it was just a dream, but still I wonder...am I capable of that?)

10. Twilight Zone episodes from when I was a child and which now inspire my horror fiction

***
What scares YOU?

Smile and Wave

Pink Think: "Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." - Mother Teresa

Photo by beezy on Flickr

Just a few blocks from my house, a mom of kids I know from my children's school does something that just absolutely amazes me. She is a crossing guard, one of those important but (to me) would probably be a tedious job.

She smiles and waves.

When she has a sub for the day, I realize that I have begun to count on her smile and wave. One of these days I will have to tell her thanks for putting a smile on my face as our lives intersect that day.

***
I held on to that image of her smiling and waving later Thursday, when I went in to see my mom at the E.R. for a mini-stroke. Fortunately, Mom was discharged the next day and the CT Scan showed no brain damage, but for a while, I had these very dark thoughts.

That smile and wave pulled me through.

***
Not to make light of my mom's health, but I got a story idea when I visited her. On my way up to her room for the night, I realized in the elevator that there wasn't a 13th floor in her hospital tower. Technically speaking, Mom's floor was the 13th floor, but it was called 14th. And my strange mind began thinking these interesting storylines...

Boo!

Why I Write Boy-Stories

Pink Think: "It would have been easier to have a male protagonist, but I didn't want people to assume that Nikki Hill was me in her entirety because a lot of people just don't like me and I don't think they would be interested in reading about me, even in the fictional context." - Christopher Darden


Photo from bing.com

My oldest recently had a bone to pick with me. She said, "How come you never write stories with a strong girl as lead protagonist?"

"I wrote about a princess in my last one," I pointed out.

"Yes," she conceded, "but other than that...?"

I opened my mouth to protest, then shut it. Coz she was probably right.

***
Let's see, some of the stories I have written in the last three years:

The Spanish Exile - historical novel - male protagonist
Ghost Moon Night - historical paranormal - male protagonist
Girl From Gurian - historical romance - female protagonist
Rosalie's New Hobby - contemporary short story - female protagonist
Coconut Island - horror short story - male protagonist
Roadkill Grill - horror short story - male protagonist
Please Do Not Disturb - horror short story - male protagonist

***
Reasons why I usually write stories with a boy as main character:

1. I can write autobiographically without being obvious.
2. I can write about emotional situations and my character can remain fairly stoic without coming across as cold.
3. I can put romance in and avoid getting too sappy.
4. I find it easier to write "funny" from a male point of view than a female's.
5. I feel like I can write about darker and more disturbing subjects.

***
To appease my daughter I told her I should write a story sometime soon with a female protagonist as lead. She said, "With manatees."

"Female lead, check." I said. "Manatees. Check."

Hey, come to think of it, this summer, I had started a mermaid fantasy set in the Philippines. Maybe it is time for me to dust it off.

***
To you fiction writers out there, do you find it easier or more fun to write from the POV of your gender or not?

Ain't No Sunshine

Pink Think: "Ain't no sunshine when he's gone, It's not warm when he's away, Ain't no sunshine when he's gone, And he's always gone too long, Anytime he goes away." - adapted from Bill Withers song

Ain't No Sunshine...for this deer widow. So here I am singing Bill Withers' song.

(Love you darling! Happy birthday. Get your deer and come home soon.)

Moon River

Pink Think: "The wheel is come full circle." - William Shakespeare



I have been learning a lot of songs lately on acoustic guitar. My kids hear me practice sometimes. And every other night, I take turns with my husband singing them a lullaby. Last night, as I tuck in my girls, I tell them, "You know the songs I sing. What would you like me to sing to you?"

My oldest hesitates. "What do you want to sing?"

"You pick," I say.

"Okay. Moon River."

Moon River is not one I have learned on guitar. But it has been my lullaby to them since they have been little. That and Someone's Waiting For You, the theme from the Disney movie Rescuers.

So I sing it sans guitar.

***
I still remember my favorite lullaby as a child, the one my dad used to sing to me. It was...Moon River.

Did YOU have a favorite lullaby as a child? What was it?