BOO! or Boo...

BOO and Happy Halloween bloggers, writers and readers!

I'm finally writing the end chapter to my current wip. I knew roughly what would happen and how I needed to end the story of Clara and Luc (the book doesn't have a title yet) but it wasn't until my walk this morning that the details became clear.
My conclusion - active body=active brain cells!
Once I write The End, I'll go back to the beginning and smooth over the messy bits, add more flavor, tie up any dangly bits and begin the dreaded synopsis so I can begin the query process.

I was hoping to finish this book weeks ago but two weeks of sick kidlets threw a serious wrench in my creative process. My boys are needy (and that's putting it kindly) when they're feeling icky (*cough* much like their father *cough-cough*) but that's okay... it's part of the job description. BUT - and this is where I actually get to the point - the messed up time-line makes it impossible for me to do NaNo. And maybe that's a good thing. Maybe next year, when Sweetness (aka youngest son) starts school full-time and I'll have hours to spend at the computer rather than minutes -- and I'll feel less guilt. (thanks for that mom)

Are you NaNo-ing? How do you juggle it all? What sort of schedule will you adhere to (if at all) and what are you writing?

Wylie's Fail Tags

1. So THEY are now saying that a huge percentage of reported H1N1 cases (they stopped the blood tests awhile ago and go by symptoms only) are not actually H1N1. Me smells a pharma-rat. #swinefail

2. I'm in the home stretch of the novel-in-progress. But everytime I've said that in the past I've found some way to add 10 - 15 K to the total. Hmmm #trendspottingfail

3. Four Christmas pressies bought. I'm a month and a half ahead of schedule! #franticshopperfail

4. I've eaten half the treats I bought for Halloween and still have days to go. #dietfail

5. Recently returned from a FABULOUS writer's retreat where as much laughing was done as writing. I thought I had nothing to brainstorm with the group until I returned home and realized that my book has neither a title or ending. #brainstormfail

6. Yay me for kicking my severe coffee dependence. Boo me for replacing it with fingernail biting. #compulsivedisorderfail

7. I live for Wednesday's GLEE. #getalifefail

H1N1 is in the building!

My youngest son, aka Sweetness, has the H1N1 virus. It's the mild form, thank goodness, but he's been put on medication to ensure his lungs don't get a secondary infection because this virus is expecially hard on the respitory system.

I've been reading MUCH about this virus and the vaccination that's meant to be coming out in the next few weeks. If you're Canadian, and you can get your hands on the MacLeans magazine that came out this week, they tackle the topic with thorough, unbiased approach.

Then I came across this article from the Canadian Press that made me chuckle.
The full article is here: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/091022/world/us_cda_flu_vaccine
But this is the part that slayed me. It concerns the short fall of vaccine supplies in the U.S.:

Canada's abundant supply of H1N1, meantime, was noted with envy on Wednesday during a Congressional hearing into the swine flu crisis on Capitol Hill. Sen. Joe Lieberman told a Senate committee that the American shortfall of swine-flu vaccine is a result, in part, of countries like Canada choosing to make their own populations a priority. Ottawa pressured Canadian manufacturers to take care of the needs of the Canadian population before they could make vaccine available to the U.S., Lieberman said.
"It's exactly what we would do with an American producer, and it just puts an exclamation point on the importance of developing domestic capacity for production of vaccine in these cases," he said. "I'm not blaming Canada, but I suppose in some sense you could say that the ... shortage of the vaccine today, beneath what we would want it to be, is attributable to foreign countries telling their local manufacturers, 'Hey, you've got to fill our needs before you fill anybody else's."'
But one American who badly wants the vaccine - 29-year-old Katie Hentges of Jefferson City, Mo. - says the blame lies with U.S. officials who failed to anticipate the scope of the H1N1 crisis.
"I'm not miffed at all at Canada," said Hentges, an asthmatic who fears the flu could hit her hard if she catches it. "It's not their fault that Americans are short-sighted and have the dumbest health-care system on the planet."

Goodness -- I'm not even sure what to say about this, except: Senator Lieberman... REALLY?? LOL

Personal Message to M. - nothing mysterious about the raccoon... it made camp on my front porch last spring and it's cute and I have no book covers to advertise. That's it!

Ralph Lauren FAIL

File this under Extreme WTFuckery...

Ralph Lauren photoshops a model to unhealthy proportions, gets called on it, then fires the girl for being too large!

Dear Ralph Lauren,



Not that I drop a large amount of money on your products anyway... but I'm now going to actively go out of my way to purge the house of anything with your moniker on it. And don't expect to ever see my credit card number on your books again.

Sincerely,

The Kinsons

Read here how she was photoshopped into anorexia: http://www.boingboing.net/2009/10/06/the-criticism-that-r.html



And here for how she was subsequently fired for being too large!!! She's 5'10" and 120 pounds. Good grief!! http://ca.lifestyle.yahoo.com/fashion-beauty/articles/trends/cp/home_family%20model_in_altered_ralph_lauren_ad_says_she_was_fired_for_being_too_large_

SQUEE for GLEE!!

I'm unashamedly hooked on the television show GLEE.

The cast is brilliant and though I love Lea Michele's character Rachel, Cory Monteith as Fin and the adorable Matthew Morrison as the Glee Club director Will Schuester, it's Jane Lynch's cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester who completely steals the show. And she doesn't even sing!

You might not recognize her name, but her imdb credits are well over 100 long so you'd probably recognize her. For me, it was her role as Paula, the electronics store manager in The 40 Year Old Virgin that made her memorable...

A program like Glee -- about the nerds, losers, misfits who make up the school's show choir -- has to settle onto a wire thin tightrope of balance between drama, humor and song. They do it brilliantly, with just enough campiness to not take itself to seriously. And that's important!

But ignore everything I just said and watch Glee because it will make you feel... Gleeful :)

The Best Part of the Holidays? LEFTOVERS!

Up until last night we were still enjoying leftovers from out Thanksgiving dinner. In the spirit of giving (and thanking!) I thought I'd share our favorite dish that works for both Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts.

Sweet Potato Casserole

5-6 cups sweet potato, cubed
1/2 cup white sugar (I sometime use less sugar and it tastes just as fine)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup evaporated milk (you can subsitute regular 2% milk)
1 tsp vanilla

topping:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 c cup chopped pecans

directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 C). Boil sweet potatoes in a medium pot until tender, drain and mash.
In a large bowl, mix together sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla - add sweet potato mash and mix until smooth. Transfer into a 9x13 baking dish (or large casserole works well too)
In a medium bowl, mix the sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse (like crumble topping). Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potatoes.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the topping is nice and brown.

Total prep time: approx 30 minutes
Total cooking time: approx 30 minutes.
Makes enough for 12-14 servings

And most importantly, it tastes even better the second and third day.
Enjoy!

Thanksgiving

We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving a couple of days ago and naturally, it got me thinking about all that I'm thankful for. I could easily list a hundred but you'd get bored so here are a few...

• My family; Mr. Wylie, Sweetness and Light (aka my 2 sons)
• Our health
• My mother who will celebrate her 90th birthday in 2010
• Our house, and it's abundance of closets
• My friends, too numerous to name
• My readers. All 3 of you ;)
• Red
• My TRW buddies who keep me sane and laughing (and waving pom poms)
• Food ('nuff said)
• My cats - who always seem to know when I need a furry loving cuddle
• Good books

Hope you all have things to be thankful for and may the coming year provide you with bounty for the body and soul.

Time for leftovers :)

Light: The Interview

Last Spring I did an interview with Sweetness, my youngest child. I decided to let the oldest, the Light of my life, have a go. Here's what my 9 year old had to say:


1. WHAT IS SOMETHING MOM ALWAYS SAYS TO YOU? Go to bed

2. WHAT MAKES MOM HAPPY? Chocolate

3. WHAT MAKES MOM SAD? Whenever I do something stupid

4. HOW DOES YOUR MOM MAKE YOU LAUGH? Tickling me

5. WHAT WAS YOUR MOM LIKE AS A CHILD? I have no clue

6. HOW OLD IS YOUR MOM? 42 (ed note: liar!)

7. HOW TALL IS YOUR MOM? About five feet (lies, more lies!!)

8. WHAT IS YOUR MOM’S FAVORITE THING TO DO? I totally don't know

9. WHAT DOES YOUR MOM DO WHEN YOU’RE NOT AROUND? Write

10. IF YOUR MOM BECOMES FAMOUS, WHAT WILL IT BE FOR? Writing a famous book

11. WHAT is YOUR MOM REALLY GOOD AT? Language

12. WHAT IS YOUR MOM NOT VERY GOOD AT? Math (okay, the lies have stopped...)

13. WHAT DOES YOUR MOM DO FOR HER JOB? Writes

14. WHAT IS YOUR MOM’S FAVORITE FOOD? Chocolate

15. WHAT MAKES YOUR MOM PROUD OF YOU? Whenever I do something good (ah... it IS sinking in!)

16. IF YOUR MOM WERE A CARTOON CHARACTER, WHO WOULD SHE BE? Sandy Cheeks (from Spongebob)

17. WHAT DO YOU AND YOUR MOM DO TOGETHER? watch tv, cuddle in bed, read

18. HOW ARE YOU AND YOUR MOM THE SAME? We both like reading, we both like Mighty B, we like going to the movies

19. HOW ARE YOU AND YOUR MOM DIFFERENT? gender, she's good at language and I'm good at math, age, she owns the house

20. HOW DO YOU KNOW YOUR MOM LOVES YOU? Because she shows it by hugs and kisses and she likes to cuddle me

21. WHERE IS YOUR MOM’S FAVORITE PLACE TO GO? to visit her mom

22. HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE YOUR MOM? 99 out of 100 because sometimes she's mean to me but mostly she's nice

Wylie's Watching...

I've been sucked pretty hard into television this season. I vowed not to add any shows to the must-watch list, but much like the diet, I succumbed to temptation.
Here's what I'm excited about:

FlashForward - I was hooked as soon as I saw the cast. Joseph Fiennes (that's Ralph's brother - remember him from Shakespeare in Love?), whom i adore even with the phony American accent, a few cast members from LOST, a brief appearance by Alex Kingston (Elizabeth from ER) and other familiar faces...
It's based on a Robert Sawyer book about a strange phenomenon whereby everyone in the world blacks out at exactly same time and foresees a moment in their future.

Glee - I absolutely ADORE it! It makes me feel good!! Song, dance, great cast. It should be called SQUEE!

Those I'm loyal to from years past:
Fringe - fills the void the X-Files left all those years ago.
Bones - especially since I'm now caught up on past seasons so finally feel like I know what's going on...
Castle - Nathan Fillion. That's all I'm sayin'.
House and Lie To Me - because I seem to enjoy totally obnoxious, know-it-all men?? Hmm... both are British actors. As is Joe Fiennes from FlashForward. I'm sensing a trend...

Shows that didn't hook me (after 2 or more episodes):
Vampire Diaries: Too angsty and, does no one in highschool have parents? The dialogue is soap-operaish (and I should know, having had that one line in Y&R all those years ago - *snort*)
Eastwick: meh. But I'll say this: Rebecca Romijn is gorgeous.

And I'm not doing ANY reality shows this year. NONE. This year, I'm going scripted :)

What new shows have your fire burning, kids?
Better yet, what have dumped or refused to watch?
Tell, tell, tell!!!

Writer in Residence at Toronto Public Libraries

If you get a moment...

Fellow TRW member Deborah Cooke is currently the Writer-in-Residence at the Toronto Public Libraries. Deborah is the FIRST romance writer in this position which is very exciting!
Writing since the early 90's, Deb(who also writes as Claire Cross and Claire Delacroix) is a font of knowledge when it comes to the publishing industry, so please, check out her blog posts while she's 'representin' us HEA writers :)

http://torontopubliclibrary.typepad.com/deborahcooke

Hockey Night in Canada

I had the pleasure of going to see an NHL game last weekend. It was so exciting to be part of the fan crazy - and believe me, there was tons of fan crazy! The Toronto Maple Leaf fans are known for it. And despite the rant I'm about to go on, I loved it. Every tense second. I'd jump at the chance to go to another... if only the tickets weren't so prohibitively expensive.

BUT...

The fights. Ridiculous! Gloves flying off, grown men beating on each other like schoolyard bullies... what's up with that?
No less than three major fights broke out, one even caused some blood on the ice (okay, that totally turned my on, but that's a whole 'nuther show, people).

What did they get? 2 minute penalties for roughing, 5 minutes for fighting or charging. Puh-lease. And they got to sit in a little box on the other side of the ice from their team mates. Hardly a deterrent.

I say - increase the penalty to no less than 10 minutes and make them sit with the other team. Ha! See if you can big boys can deal with that.

Where else is this crap allowed? You don't see Tiger beating down on Vijay. Selena doesn't jump the net and put her sister in a headlock!

It's called sportsmanship. It should be part of the rules.

Here's my other solution -- Fire the refs, let some MOMS out there. Here's how it would go down:

"What did you say to me? He started it? Really? Because that's not what I saw.... and don't you lie to me, I have eyes in the back of my damn head.

Now stop your whining and go stand in the corner.

No, not the penalty box where you can still watch the game. You stand in the corner, on your tip toes and you THINK about what you did, young man. Ten minutes. You heard me! And if you don't watch your lip, you'll be licking the soap."

Incase you're interested, Leafs beat the Flyers 5 - 4 in overtime.

Writing, or at least i think it is.

With both kids back at school (though one is only in kindergarden so 1/2 days only), I've managed to get back to writing. YAY!
At least I think it's writing... I'm so rusty that the words are coming agonizingly slow. And I'm very unsure of myself so have been relying on my good buddy Red Garnier (who has a novel coming out this December called Satin Sash that is sooooo hot it will make your toes curl!) for the occassional ego boost. Everyone needs a Red in their life. Truly. Someone who'll read your sh*t and assure that you don't suck, but also make little suggestions to take an okay scene into a rockin' good piece of fluff :)

What am I working on?
A light contemporary. I'm aiming for category length, but we'll see. I've never been good at sticking to expected word counts so I may end up with a saga.

What are you working on?

But she promised to only brag once!

Hey, remember I mentioned that futuristic, post-apocalyptic book of mine that finalled in the Original Golden Opportunity Contest -- JUMP ZONE???
(Yes, I know... I promised to only brag once... but this is more of a reference point rather than outright tooting-of-horn)

Where was I? Oh yes, the future! It's impossible to foresee the future but one must make educated guesses, extrapolations, etc... based on the knowledge we now have. A writer's future world MUST have some degree of authenticity so readers don't toss it to the wall and declare it absolute rubbish.
In my case, I wrote about a future world that was devasted by a combination of war and climate change... so naturally, I can't wait to see this film starring one of my fave Brit actors Pete Postlethwaite (try saying that name after a few pints!):

The Age of Stupid: A wakeup call on climate change

I'd love your thoughts.

One last thing. If you enjoy historical romances and you haven't read Judith James's BROKEN WING, I urge you to. It's very different. Busts the comfortable barriers of more traditional HRs but in a refreshing, dark and dramatic way. Go. Read. Support this book.

What's in your mouth?

A friend mentioned that she'd had a few metal amalgams removed.
I thought she was talking about her star chart...
alas, I am stupid. Amalgams are dental fillings.

Like most good Canadian children who were raised on pixie sticks and MacIntosh toffee, I have a fair share of mercury amalgams myself so naturally I asked her why she was getting hers removed.
Apparently, mercury is a dangerous substance to have in our bodies (right Jeremy Piven??) and they've outright banned mercury amalgams in many countries. In Canada, they're not given to pregnant women or children. But the U.S. FDA seems to think they're okay.
I realize there are always two sides to the story, and having read a bit on both points of few, decided to share my favorite article (at least the one that made me groan, chuckle and gasp with fear):

http://www.oneradionetwork.com/health_-_articles/dental_healing_-_articles/mercury_dental_amalgams_banned_in_3_countries_20090114717/

I especially liked the bit about a school evacution due to a teeny tiny amount of mercury leaking from a necklace.
Perhaps this will age me, but when I was in school -- elementary and highschool -- a big highlight in science class was a game of Let's Chase the Mercury! whereby the teacher spilled the silver liquid on the floor and we stupid unsuspecting and now quite poisoned children ran after the little balls as they scattered about.
Any one else?? LOL
Guess I'll see you on the Alzheimer's Ward in a few...

Summer Lovin'

Hello Blogworld! It's been awhile :)

One heck of a busy summer. But it had a GLORIOUS ending, which I'll brag about just once, I promise:
My futuristic, post-apocalyptic novel, Jump Zone, finalled in the Original Golden Opportunity Contest and is now sitting on the desk of a Dorchester editor for a final round of judging. Squee!

My fellow Toronto Romance Writer, Bonnie Staring, finalled too in they YA category, so let's give a WHOOP to the BonStar!! (pom pom swish)
**
And your Summer Lovin' activities? Come on, play along and tell me, what was the HIGHLIGHT of your holidays?

Hey, where'd she go?

Kinda quiet in here...
Nope - didn't fall of the end of the earth, but motherhood is smothering the Wylie right out of me! Haven't written lately (but hoping to change that soon) due to a badly planned overkill of children's activities ranging from school projects (Grade 4 is HARD!!!), martial arts and soccer. I don't remember my childhood being this crazy. Better go check with my mom...

Blogging has sadly fallen off the priority list, but before I disappear for another extended period of time (otherwise known as summer holidays) I must mention:

Thomma Lyn Grindstaff's Mirror Blue is out. This literary romance is a MUST READ. Her characters are richly drawn and grounded in real-life, full of conflict and utterly engaging. (And she's the only author I know who can mix cats, hogs and snakes effortlessly into a plot!! LOL)

Happy summer!

Changing of the Guard

My Uncle Bill died last week at the sprightly age of 93 and it hit me really hard. He was one of the remaining few of my mom's generation.
It's scary - watching these matriarchs and patriarchs go down, one by one, leaving gaps in the front lines -- gaps that MY generation have to fill. We've all taken one proverbial step forward, becoming the new guard, becoming the 'adults' in the eyes of our own children -- protectors, the 'wise ones'.

I'm scared.

Disney's EARTH

Did a family outing to see Disney's EARTH this past weekend. It was lovely.
BUT...
I'm suggesting that you splurge and buy the BBC Earth series on DVD instead.
Go here to see my original post on this amazing collection.
Disney used about 60% footage from BBC's Planet Earth series so much of it was familiar. This brought up an interesting comparison -- I like David Attenborough's narration much better than Disney's remix, with no disrespect to James Earl Jones.
As for the kids, they were bored and fidgety after the first hour. I should probably add that both my boys (4 & 9 years old) love the theatre experience and can usually be counted on to sit still for the duration. Perhaps it's because they've both seen the BBC version but I think it's because there wasn't a plot or storyline to follow.

Have you seen it? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Speaking of movies, I caught Love Actually on television the other night and was reminded of how much I enjoyed it.

Wylie's Wild World

It's a jungle out here. Literally!

Hubby walked son to schoolbus the other day and on the way home spotted a little raccoon climing the stone pillar of our front porch.

Bandit (as he was so named) took up residence on a little ledge, high above our front door, and settled in for the day (technically, his night).

We came and went throughout the day but other than looking down at us, giving the occassional scratch or licky-bath to his gorgeous fur coat, Bandid didn't budge until the sun went back down.

We were all fascinated, especially my cats, who chattered to Bandit through the window for a good portion of the morning.

It took everything in my power not to offer it up a meal! I'm a hostess at heart, but I know it would be very bad form to encourage further visits.

And my neighbors would have shot me ;)

Jumping Rope for the Heart Bounce Station

I've had a cold from HELL over the last week. It turned into a sinus and ear infection that made my life a bit miserable.
All that head/chest drama was in addition to the sprained ribs (but really, trampolining is FUN!) and the twisted knee (nothing to do with trampolining) made Wylie a grumpy little beast who spent 20 hours a day in bed since last Sunday.

In case you're wondering if I'm exagerating my illness... not only did my computer hold no interest for me (point of evidence!), but I felt too icky to read.
That's sick-sick.
And no attention span for movies, either. Thank goodness for Corner Gas, the 22 minute Canadian prarie-comedy, which I'd never seen before, but thanks to Apple TV, now own seasons 1-4. It's such a hoot! The downside? Laughter induced coughing fits.

In other news - I have short hair. Yup. After years and years of sporting longish locks, I gave my stylist carte blanche with the scissors. It's okay... takes some getting used to, but much easier to manage. And I'm honestly not sorry to see the French braid go. I think.

And finally, a long overdue episode of Overheard at the Kinsons:
My son is taking part in the Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser at school so they had a representative for the Heart & Stroke Foundation come to their class to give a talk. How did this go down? My four year old boy greeted me at pick-up time with: Mom, I need to fill this envelope with money for the Heart & Bounce Station.
Later that day (and after being gently corrected): Dad! You have to give me money for the Found Heart Dalmation.

Honestly... I could NOT make this stuff up.