Research and Weekend Plans

I'm behind. I'm a week behind on the book, and probably two weeks behind on blog posting. Won't even talk about my laundry, but the kitchen is hanging on by the skin of its teeth.

Such an odd phrase - skin of its teeth. Especially since teeth don't have skin.

I'm a little loopy. Frankly, I'd love nothing better than a nap but I'm fighting those instincts and trying to get things done. Like blog.

I called the Art Institute of Portland today to see if I could schedule a tour of the campus. I came clean about being a writer - having a phone conversation as your character is exhausting enough, trying to be them in person seems daunting. While I half expected the admissions office to blow me off so they'd have time for real students, the office was very helpful, even directed me to their PR person.

We get to do that Saturday. Also on tap Saturday, earlier that day, is a meeting with my web designer. We've kind of tried to put things together over the phone - not something I'd recommend. It's like giving advice about a painting over the phone. So we're getting together, hopefully over cupcakes. We'll also take some additional author shots for the website; the kind of shots we get and what I wear will decide the color palate for the site. There are decisions to be made. I kind of suck at decisions. For a while I was thinking, two days, I'll only pack for two days. That's not much! But now I'm realizing I'll need to bring clothing options and books for props...this is all practical, mind you. None of my over-packing tendencies are coming into play here.

Cupcakes, on the other hand - I'm great with cupcakes.

After the tour and after the web meeting, we'll most likely be heading down to Powell's to look at their rare books. More and more of Simply Sara seems to revolve around rare manuscripts, and I've really enjoyed the research. Finally found this site for terminology, so I finally know what it means when pages are "foxed."

I had intended to head to the U of O's Knight Library to look at their collection, but I couldn't come up with the energy. The books aren't going anywhere, and when I'm spending this much time stressing over the book, it's nice to have another afternoon at home to work.

Tonight we're helping my brother and his wife move into their new apartment, which brings back memories of moving into ours. I remember waking up in the morning, stumbling into the living room, and sorting through the boxes of belongings and wedding gifts.

An update on the basil: it is still alive. However, it's been fairly unhappy with me since I left it for a short period of time in a hot car on a 100+ degree day (I don't usually take it for drives; the reason it was in the car was that I had to take it to my grandmother's before the Canada trip, and thought it would be prudent to run errands before hand. Little did I know).

These days, it gets a little wiggy if it gets too much sun. I'm hoping to keep it alive through the winter, though, so here's hoping.

Real live website

That's right. I now officially own hillarymantonlodge.com. Not only that, but we have an (extremely) basic bit o' stuff on it

Basically, it says a bit about the book and sends you to either here or amazon. But considering that the book's not released yet, it works for me.

Danny set it up. Well, I made up the little page in photoshop, but he got it all posted and stuff. My word of advice for unmarried women - marry someone useful. Marry handy. Make sure he can fix something - anything. The more he can fix, the more cost-effective he is.

In other news: I finished the first chapter of Simply Sara. Not only that, but my editor liked it (it's going in the back of Plain Jayne - she doesn't normally read as I go). And not only that, but I've started and made impressive progress on chapter two.

If you're not impressed, remind yourself it's Monday. See? Impressive? I thought so. Mondays are tough days not only because they're the first day of the week, but because there isn't much springboard text yet during chapter writing. You can go back to the previous chapter, sure, but subsequent chapters usually exist in a different timeframe, so you're still kinda starting from scratch. I get a lot more writing done on Thursdays and Fridays because of the momentum. Getting just over a page done on a Monday (granted, a Monday with a single, rather than double chapter goal) is a happy happy thing. And did I mention that I wrote most of it during the day?

(It should also be noted that I'm writing about shopping. I could write a doctoral thesis about shopping.)

May the Amish be with you.

So. I posted earlier today saying how I didn't post much.

Right.

To promote their line of Amish Fiction, Harvest House created AmishReader.com, a site dedicated to...yes...Amish Fiction. Being read by Amish Readers.

(Sorry, I'm a bit punchy. That's what comes of spending too much of your day in one chair and only cranking out 406 words. Urg. There will be more by the time I shut the laptop lid for the night, and judging by the current loopiness [sp?] they might not be half bad.)

Anyway. Check out the site. I'm on it. I look cute. My books aren't exactly on, seeing as they don't have covers yet, but they will be. If you like Amish fiction, take a look. If your mommy likes Amish fiction, tell her to take a look.

In all honesty, I am not going to make a career in writing Amish Fiction. This is not to say that I haven't spent ages in serious research, visited an Amish General Store and woodshop, bought the peach butter, photographed the Amish kittens, nearly cried when I realized I didn't have the memory card in my camera at the time...correctly photographed the buggy crossing sign. Been there, done that. Also watched the documentary about the Amish crack dealer kid.

I've enjoyed the chance to put my research skills (which I pay for every month in the form of a student loan) to good use, but my imagination is restless. Before publication, I tried my hand at writing historical fiction, suspense, YA fiction, children's stories, and chick-lit, before I settled into comedic-generation-next-fiction.

Writing Amish Fiction was my "in," and it's worked because of my imagination (granted, there are days I want to yank everyone's bonnets off and trot them around a Sephora counter). But later, who knows? Writing to the market is a challenge, but I like challenges.

I just wish this particular challenge would let me leave the house.

P.S. For more on my take on Amish Fiction, click here.
P.S.S. Forevermore, or at least in the forseeable future, the AmishReader link will also be posted in my "places to click" section. And do keep checking it - at some point, the book will be there!