Words Sway Me

I just finished reading a stunning and heartbreaking novel about what might happen if an EMP was detonated over the U.S. Very realistic depiction, in my opinion. I don't know what was worst; imagining this happening for real in my life, the deaths of the elderly, the cannibalism, the need to lock people up in asylums/sanitoriums again, or the death of a child due to lack of insulin. I could very easily turn into a survivalist if I think about it that much. Then again, I would head for my friend Shannon's house in the event of an apocalypse--she would have plenty of green things growing. And a catapult or trebuchet for defense. Plus, those Baker boys are something fierce!

My mother has always said that words are weapons for me. I can slice you to pieces without ever touching you. I try to use my power for good, but it doesn't always work. I guess it follows that words affect me in the same way. I cry much more easily while I am reading a well-written book than I do when I'm watching a movie.

There are books that I have been reading and re-reading for 10-15 years where the characters seem like old friends. There are books I can no longer read because of the deaths of those beloved characters. There is a book that haunts me, that I love, that was probably my introduction to the genre I most love; fantasy. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. It is such a book of humanity and haunting beauty. I want to read it again and again, to hold the words close to me. I can't bear it, though. The unicorn's story is too tragic. There is both great hope and great despair in the tale.

I marvel that this one story can absorb so much of myself. I marvel that this author has woven such a tale! Such a deft hand at the pen. Where does his story come from? I want desperately to have the same skill at writing a tale, the same power to bring tears, to have someone read and re-read my words fifty, a hundred times because of their weight, their aura, their transcendence. I fear that I have nothing so pure and amazing within me. I fear that I have that skill within me, but no story to tell. I fear that I have the story, but cannot find the right words.

Words hold me in their grip, tightly. I live my life along their edges. They susurrate over my tongue, whisper in my ears, grip my soul in both their hands and haul me under the deep blue of their gluttonous mouths.

When Being a Reader & Being a Writer Collide

I am an avid reader, and have been since before I could even read. My mother tells me that I used to sit at her feet and watch her reading. I am quoted as saying "I wish I could read." I was highly motivated to learn to read and learned as quickly as possible.

With my love of reading has followed a love of writing. I loved the characters in my books so much that I wanted to create my own characters. I began writing epic stories with no end in elementary school. I still have a notebook filled with a description of my imaginary world that I wrote some time in middle school. In 3rd grade, I was a finalist in a DAR writing competition about what the Constitution meant to me.

In high school, I discovered poetry. It was all I wrote for years. At college, I majored in English with an emphasis in creative writing. All but one of my workshop classes were in poetry. I really struggled with the one fiction workshop class that I took. My biggest issue was conflict. I didn't really have a lot in my own life, and a lack of experience led to a lack of inspiration for me. After college, I stagnated. I dealt with depression that sucked any interest in writing out of me.

Living in Los Angeles, I posted an ad on Craigslist for a writing partner. To my surprise, I found a great one! She was from Kentucky like me, and vegan where I was vegetarian. She liked my writing and really encouraged me. A year later, she and her husband moved back to Chicago where they had lived previously. I went out hunting for a writing partner again, and again was amazingly lucky. This writing partner helped me focus more on my goals as a writer and the fact that I start a million different projects and never finish anything!

Now I am a blogger mostly, with a few pieces of poetry and quite a few personal essays thrown in. I do a lot of thinking about writing a novel. I have done a lot of planning in regards to my novel. I've started more than one novel. However, I haven't pushed through any of them yet.

Then a funny thing happened. All that reading I've done about writing a novel started clicking into place while I was reading. The book I read the other day was a textbook example. Textbooks, though? Not so much fun to read. Textbook examples, ditto. I am seriously concerned that being a writer is going to ruin being a reader for me! It disappoints me that books are becoming predictable and formulaic. I don't want to have to give up one or the other of my pleasures for the sake of the other remaining interesting.

Amazing BlogHer Conference

I can't say enough good stuff about BlogHer! I am enjoying myself SO much. I am way sleepy and ready to crawl into my bed, but I am energized mentally. Can you be energized inspirationally? If so, that definitely describes me.

I would love to have questions to ask some of the panelists, but I'm so busy taking in what these women are saying that I don't have enough brain power left over for questions! I've been to some really helpful sessions--Beginning Wordpress and a session about writing Op-Ed pieces. Ooops, is Wordpress a dirty word when I'm using blogger for my blog? Are they going to censor me? Hehe.

I really enjoyed the panel on feminist/pro-woman issues yesterday. It was really thought-provoking! I've always considered myself a feminist, but in a quiet sort of way. The panel made me feel like I should be more outspoken about my feminist leanings because the things that I and my fellow women do now have lasting repercussions/implications. We need to speak up so that the lives of the daughters that come after us are improved. I'll probably talk about that more over at my single woman blog: modernsinglegirl.blogspot.com later on.

Last night's keynote was amazing. There were 15 or 20 women whose work was selected from quite a few applicants. These women got up and read in front of the community. There were women talking about food as love, about having a child with special needs, about the death of a child, about fear of medical professionals, about infertility. It was amusing, moving, heart-rending. I rarely ever cried, but these women made me cry!

This morning we had a celebrity panel talking about media, blogging, advertising, etc. There was Ilene Chaiken who created the TV show The L Word, Donna Byrd who runs a new site with a focus on African-Americans called theroot.com, and Tina Brown from thedailybeast.com. Beautiful, wonderful, intelligent, women who are leaders.

BlogHer is made of awesome!

Hiatus

I've been on a bit of a hiatus, but there will be reviews upcoming very, very soon. I'm currently pursuing a full-time freelance writing career, and my reviews are a very small part of my work. If you are interested in reading anything else I have written or if you like my writing style and would like to use one of my pieces in publication, please let me know! I am a versatile writer and can writer for multiple audiences.

Stay posted for upcoming reviews! I promise there will be some genres other than paranormal romance, but there will be a healthy helping of those as well! My TBR pile is heaping with autobiography/memoirs, some poetry, and at least one mystery.

What's going on in my Book Kingdom

I'm gearing up to participate in National Novel Writing Month next month. If you haven't heard of it, go have a look here. I will most likely not be reviewing many books during that time since my energy will be devoted to creative writing instead of review writing.

In the mean-time, one of my friends has a giveaway for a mini wallet going on here. I think it's quite pretty. All you have to do is swing by and leave a comment about the charity organizations you support or have supported in the past!

I'd love to hear what's going on for everyone else who reads my blog. Please comment! I love to read what you have to say.