This blog will be on vacation until January 19th, while Bryan and I honeymoon in Costa Rica!
Putting the trip off a few months worked out perfectly; we were able to visit with out-of-town family after the wedding, and also recuperate from the wonderful, exhausting event.
We didn't want to be that couple that matches--same hat, same sandals--on vacation. But after a trip to REI, Bryan and I ended up with the same hat and same sandals. Different colors, though! The Ticos are in for a good giggle.
We'll be celebrating both our birthdays in Central America. And we'll also be able to celebrate another short story acceptance, this one from Perigee. The story, titled "Fly the Coop," will be out January 15.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Pictures
Since we're about to take off for our honeymoon, I thought I'd post a few photos from the wedding:
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Revolutionary Road
This book is good. It sticks around with you. The underachieving, unhappy young husband. The fussy wife. A flat-footed pregnancy. Flirting with infidelity. Enervated suburbia. Loss. Hopelessness.
My favorite image: the housewife viciously mowing the lawn on a Saturday morning, her hung-over husband watching from the front door.
It quickly reminded me of Rabbit, Run. Updike's book was published in 1960, and Yates' in 1961. I can't help but wonder about a possible connection.
Google is a wonderful thing. Because I don't have to be satisfied with wondering. I can run a search and find an answer from someone much smarter and more well read than myself. Unfortunately, the answer deflates my balloon of the two men drinking scotch and playing pool.
My favorite image: the housewife viciously mowing the lawn on a Saturday morning, her hung-over husband watching from the front door.
It quickly reminded me of Rabbit, Run. Updike's book was published in 1960, and Yates' in 1961. I can't help but wonder about a possible connection.
Google is a wonderful thing. Because I don't have to be satisfied with wondering. I can run a search and find an answer from someone much smarter and more well read than myself. Unfortunately, the answer deflates my balloon of the two men drinking scotch and playing pool.
Get to the Point
I’m working on a new story that has a premise, some interesting characters, worthwhile dialogue, and a backbone of narration. But it doesn’t yet have a thrust, a downhill snowball’s propulsion of a good story. I’m keeping with it, but I’m beginning to wonder if it might come to the Amy Hempel method: write and write and write. And after editing, editing, editing, ending up with a short-short. Which wouldn't be such a bad thing.
Normally I don't mind not knowing where a story’s road will bend or fork. But this time, I can't be certain if these characters and I are on the right road. Maybe I’ll find out in Costa Rica, bumping along on one of their muddy, potholed, beautiful caminos.
Normally I don't mind not knowing where a story’s road will bend or fork. But this time, I can't be certain if these characters and I are on the right road. Maybe I’ll find out in Costa Rica, bumping along on one of their muddy, potholed, beautiful caminos.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Happy New Year!
This was the booze for our big celebration (note the quarter for size).
We went out to dinner earlier on New Year's Eve. Outback Steakhouse, and Helmut knows all the employees. Happy hour in Florida means two-for-one. You order one beer (or Southern Comfort Manhattan, if you're Bryan's grandpa) and they bring you two. 4-7PM everyday, and there was nary an empty bar stool. Once it reached 7:15, though, the place had cleared out.
Traveling back and forth across the country in two days isn't as bad as one would think. Bry and I got through it with four on-time flights, two novels, a half dozen episodes of Lil' Bush (highly recommended) on the iPod touch, and one Lonely Planet book on Costa Rica. We are, ahem, changing our honeymoon itinerary just a wee bit.
Feliz Ano Nuevo!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Books
Ron Carlson led the Squaw Valley workshop the day my story was discussed. The conversation was so provoking that I thought perhaps he knew a thing or two about fiction ;), and that it might be worth my while to check out his work. I just finished Five Skies.
It's a contemporary Western about three men who build a motorcycle ramp in the scrub brush of Idaho for a movie scene. The story deals with railroad ties, ten-inch carriage bolts, and all sorts of things I have no knowledge of. Which turned out okay because the descriptions were so simple and dead-on, I was able to picture precisely what was happening. I enjoyed the story and personal stories of each of the men, but I equally enjoyed the beautiful descriptions. It was like they were there for their own sake, to very satisfying results. It reminded me of Wayne Thiebaud's luscious, extant bakery cakes.
Bryan and I are off tomorrow to spend twenty-four hours in Florida with his Grandpa. New Year's with an octogenarian is just about my speed.
It's a contemporary Western about three men who build a motorcycle ramp in the scrub brush of Idaho for a movie scene. The story deals with railroad ties, ten-inch carriage bolts, and all sorts of things I have no knowledge of. Which turned out okay because the descriptions were so simple and dead-on, I was able to picture precisely what was happening. I enjoyed the story and personal stories of each of the men, but I equally enjoyed the beautiful descriptions. It was like they were there for their own sake, to very satisfying results. It reminded me of Wayne Thiebaud's luscious, extant bakery cakes.
Bryan and I are off tomorrow to spend twenty-four hours in Florida with his Grandpa. New Year's with an octogenarian is just about my speed.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Post-holiday Humdrum
I realize I haven't posted much lately about what I read. But reading's as important as writing, so I'm going to make a better effort.
I finished What You Have Left. And as I'd suspected in an earlier post, didn't deal with America directly as a character. Great read, though.
On the advice of my husband, I picked up John Grisham's Playing for Pizza. It's a commercial fiction story about a humiliated NFL quarterback who goes to play for an Italian league. It's entertaining, but lacks the additional depth of character you'd probably find in a literary work. I don't want to be snobby about things, but I think it'd be interesting to know how the humiliation affected him. The first chapter finds the protagonist in a hospital following a concussion from a game he lost. The fans are ruthless, protesting outside his hospital room, and the media isn't much better. We are told these things are happening, but we don't know how the protagonist deals with it. It felt like a missed opportunity. Entertaining story, though.
It turns out my typewriters aren't terminal; Mitchell can get them all back up and running. All that's required are Q-tips; cleaner; new springs, ribbons, and knobs; one new platen; two rollers; hours of his time; and some welding. Not bad, eh?
I finished What You Have Left. And as I'd suspected in an earlier post, didn't deal with America directly as a character. Great read, though.
On the advice of my husband, I picked up John Grisham's Playing for Pizza. It's a commercial fiction story about a humiliated NFL quarterback who goes to play for an Italian league. It's entertaining, but lacks the additional depth of character you'd probably find in a literary work. I don't want to be snobby about things, but I think it'd be interesting to know how the humiliation affected him. The first chapter finds the protagonist in a hospital following a concussion from a game he lost. The fans are ruthless, protesting outside his hospital room, and the media isn't much better. We are told these things are happening, but we don't know how the protagonist deals with it. It felt like a missed opportunity. Entertaining story, though.
It turns out my typewriters aren't terminal; Mitchell can get them all back up and running. All that's required are Q-tips; cleaner; new springs, ribbons, and knobs; one new platen; two rollers; hours of his time; and some welding. Not bad, eh?
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