KnickKnacks

I have always loved trinkets. I have a collection of David Winter cottages, I used to collect parrots (ceramic, plates, wooden; not the real ones), I collect plates with folk art, and since my latest book came out, I have all sorts of figurines depicting magical beings. I have a copy of a medieval goblet from England, a lizard from the Grand Canyon, and all kinds tins, especially holiday ones that used to hold candy.

I'm a junk junkie.

I absolutely hate shopping, clothes or grocery. The minute I step into a mall or supermarket, I start to yawn (I'm not kidding). But get me in a knickknack store and I could spend hours gazing at every little thing (Book stores too). I love things that catch the light, collect dust, and serve no real purpose on this planet but to look sweet.

But not too sweet. I don't like the cutesy things. No teddy bears or kids with big eyes. Although my daughter has some Pocket Dragons (I should put a trademark here, but, oh well) that I find adorable (My poor daughter inherited my junk gene, but her tastes run toward dragons--of which I have a few myself).


So stay tuned. I will be posting soon about a contest I am running where the winner can receive a wand. Details are forthcoming, I promise. And it's a cool wand. One I would like to have.

Because you can never have too much fun stuff.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now;
Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn

A Word about Truth and Honesty

Recently I was giving a talk on Theme, and I realized that AS YOU WISH, my April 2011 release, has truth and honesty as a major topic in the novel. Haven’t we all heard that lying is bad? Isn’t honesty the best policy? Well, I’m here to say the subject isn’t that black and white. I honestly believe that lies have an important place in this world.

Of course, I believe that honesty is necessary in a relationship, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Nothing irritates me more than a story where the hero believes he must always tell the truth when a good lie would let him get away from the villain. That’s just stupidity. Huck Finn lies throughout his story, yet we admire him because his lies are good lies. He lies to protect himself, to protect Jim, and to survive. I have nothing but admiration for someone who does that. (Yes, I am currently teaching the novel so it’s kind of in my head right now)

So does that mean you can’t trust me? Far from it. I am totally honest with friends and family, but if you ask me if your butt looks big in your jeans, unless you are my bosom buddy, I’m not going to tell you that you look awful. I will point out if you have spinach in your teeth, because that’s an easy fix and I’d hope someone would tell me if I did.

So I can understand lying, if the motive is there. I tell my students that I will always tell them the truth (at least as I see it), but that doesn’t mean I won’t lie to them. That leaves them scratching their heads for a while. But sometimes a lie is important and necessary.

And that’s the truth.

--Gabi

Books I’m reading now:
The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

The First Review

The first review for As You Wish is in.

Thanks, Felicia, the Geeky Blogger. :)
--Gabi
Books I'm Reading Now:
Midnight Crystal by Jayne Castle

Timing is everything

Just a quick note this week. A few events made me think about timing. The first is that job I told you about. I applied and within a few days of applying the job was pulled. When I inquired, the school said that they have filled the position for the year and if the position will be open for the fall, they would let me know. Yeah, I don't buy it. Really, I was highly qualified for this position and I didn't even get consideration. But it's not all bad. I will be a full time writing come the end of May, and that's good.

Second is RWA National. Because of hotel rennovations (that's what I heard, the conference this year is being held nearly a month earlier. Because of the change in date I won't be attending for the first time in years (I chose not to attend one other national conference for reasons that I don't want to get into right now.) But I'm missing the New York conference because--and this is a GREAT excuse--I'll be in Europe. Yes, one of the twins will be studying in Budapest starting in March, and we'll be flying over to join up with her in June, so I won't be back in time. (I know you're feeling sorry for me right now)

Third, my other daughter (they're twins, you know) came home from her study abroad program Dec 23, 2010. Why is this a matter of timing? She was studying in Cairo. I wish the people of Egypt the best in achieving a democracy and a government they can admire and support, but I'm glad she's home.

--Gabi
Books I'm reading now:
Fired Up by Jayne Ann Krentz
Fat Chance by Rhonda Pollero
Catch of a Lifetime by Judi Fennell

The adventures of electronic reading.

I got a Kindle for my anniversary from my husband. I was afraid of it for the first couple of days. This is not unusual behavior for me. When I get new clothes, I can't wear them right away either. But I downloaded my first book (Pride and Prejudice) with ease (but I didn't read it), and then I bought another and read it.

My reaction? Meh.

I wasn't blown away. It was comfortable enough to read-- not too heavy--and it looks sleek and new and pretty, but the reading experience itself troubled me a little. The page buttons are not where I wanted (I think I may just hold my hands in a strange position), and too few words appeared on the page for me (Yes, I know you can adjust it-- I did--but it wasn't quite right no matter the adjustment). I like knowing what page number I am on, and flipping to the end, which is what I do with EVERY book I read (and I am not opening this to discussion--some people do read the end first; I am one of them), wasn't as easy as in a book. The chapters seemed short without page numbers. And the typos...they were glaring in the Kindle format. I don't know why, but they jumped off the page at me. I googled typos on Kindle and discovered that typos are an issue with the Kindle. I don't understand why unless someone has to type in every book they publish. Shouldn't they have some sort of electronic file from the publisher for the Kindle? Maybe they do, and it was the publisher to blame. Honestly, I don't know, but I found so many typos. For example, the hero's name was misspelled twice in a few lines and then correctly a couple of lines later. (Can't say on the same page because who knows if they were on the same page. They were when I viewed it.) The word torque was used instead of toque by an author I know wouldn't make such an error. Misplaced commas, misplaced italics in several spots, and others (and yes, I know this is a fragment). I make many, many typos myself, but I do try to eliminate them. I guess I just expect better quality when I've paid for something.

On the plus side, I love not worrying about trees. The book I read was not a keeper, so I'm glad no tree was harmed in the production of my book (Yeah, yeah, I'm sure the author did use paper in the writing--I'm being figurative). I do enjoy technology, and it feels cool.

Honestly, I haven't given the Kindle enough of a chance yet. I need to read more on it to get used to it, but I had some gift certificates to a book store and bought paperbacks, so reading book number two on the Kindle will wait for this weekend. And the work I have to finish. But I'm sure many of my complaints will disappear over time. I love the idea of reading on the Kindle. I just haven't gotten used to it yet.

--Gabi
Books I'm reading now:
Changeless by Gail Carriger
Blameless by Gail Carriger

Surprise

The past two weeks have been filled with surprises--not the unexpected gift kind; the kind that life throws you when you become too complacent. First I was sicker than a dog (cliche) for New Year's. Didn't stay up to midnight for the first time since I was an infant. Then my husband drove my daughter out to Atlanta for school. She's moved into an apartment and needed her car out there, so they took a road trip to get it there. And then the STORM hit. Hubby was supposed to be home Monday night. Forty-eight hours later, he finally made it home, which meant I had to take the other daughter to the airport before work which threw my whole day off. But it all turned out well.

But the biggest surprise of all is an opportunity that opened up. I had planned on leaving teaching at the end of this school year. I could go into the political reasons for my quitting (not retirement--everyone keeps saying I'm retiring. I am NOT retiring. One cannot retire before one turns 50 with only seven years of work), but suffice it to say that NCLB, while a beautiful idea in theory, doesn't work in practice. Kind of like communism. I was jumping into writing full time. Full time writing made the household monetary situation a bit iffy, especially as we head into the daughters' last year of college. Then I discovered that the German teacher at the local high school quit over the winter break.

I have always wanted to teach German. I love the language, the way you can play with it, the sound, the music of it (unlike French which sounds like you're moving around phlegm--just kidding. Anyone who knows me knows I always make jokes about French--the language, not the people). Best poetry ever. So I have applied for the job.

I don't know if I'll get it. If I don't, this will be the last five months of teaching for me. If I do get it, I can see myself teaching for a while longer. My youngest is at the high school where the job is, we'd be on the same schedule, and it's GERMAN. Having a job will help with the twins' final year as well.

The interesting part of this whole drawn out story is that life throws you surprises--some good, some not so good--but I believe that's the joy in life. Not knowing what's coming. Oh yeah, you make plans, you SHOULD make plans, but life happens. So life is happening now and it makes me appreciate it all the more: the sweetness when my husband finally did make it home; the excitement and good fear of new possibilities; the uneven and unpredictable turns of the path we're all on.

Go out and find life. Oooo, and I have a kindle now too. I'll report on that next time.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Salvation in Death by Nora Roberts
The Lady Most Likely...: A Novel in Three Parts by Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, and Connie Brockway

Hmmm

I've decided I'm tired of trying to defend my genre. I have more important things to do than try to convince those who denigrate romance that there is value in the reading of our books (I'm sure this stance will change in time...again). But a recent conversation made me chuckle at the irony of reading snobbery.

A friend (and if she reads this, I hope she realizes that I'm not insulting her; she just made me think) read a "literary" book for her book group. She said that most of her group, including herself hated the book. So I started wondering why they would choose such books to read if they end up hating them? Because someone told them they have "value"? Because someone told them the such books are "good"? Why would I want to waste time reading something I hate?

I keep going back to the so-called "books that are good". I read one last year. It was a horrible painful story that featured, not one, but two child rapes. Yes, I know such things happen; yes, I know horrible things happen in the world; but when the novel couldn't even offer the hint of a triumph of the human spirit, I felt rotten and cheated.

Because I want to believe in the triumph of the human spirit. Whether or not it's real or possible is irrelevant. I want to believe in the triumph of the human spirit, so by God, I will, if only because it should be so.

So I will keep writing my HEA (happily ever after) stories where my characters have to triumph over evil, because that's the way life should be. And if it can't be so in real life, then, damn it, I'll make sure it's that way in the books I read.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Crazy for Love by Victoria Dahl
Earth by Jon Stewart