He speaks!

My son, Matthew, is curious to what I’m doing. I told him that I was writing a blog. He wanted to see the blog, so I showed it to him.

Now he wants to speak, so here goes (in his words):

Hello! I say my speech.

And I wanna say goodbye.

 

Baby, baby!

I’m sitting here letting my son run a comb through my hair and watching this hilarious show, “The Baby Borrowers.” They’ve let 5 teenage couples try to care for babies for three days and nights. The first day and they’re already freaking out. The show’s tagline is, “It’s not reality; it’s birth control.”

As badly as I wanted to have a baby, there is nothing more terrifying than the first hours at home with a newborn. And I was a grown woman with years of caring for infants. I had no perfectly clean home, no supplies delivered to my house and no one around to monitor me and tell me what I was doing wrong.

And I most definitely couldn’t give him back after three days.

I hope every parent with a teenager is watching this with their teens.

I’m Back!

I had the best time ever at BWRC 2008! There’s so much to share, but that will have to come as I organize my thoughts. Needless to say, it was well worth the exhaustion I’m feeling right now. I’ll have pictures and comments up this week. I hope to hear from my fellow conference attendees too!

This morning I read that George Carlin died. Though I was never a fan, I did know of him and his work. And though he may be a footnote in history for his “Seven Words” sketch, I don’t know if I’d want to be remembered that way. But hey, long live free speech – whatever that might be.

I stand witness…

Today is June 3, 2008.

I’m starting this post with the date because I want to mark it down for posterity for my son when he’s old enough to read about this.

Barack Obama made history tonight by becoming the first African-American to receive the nomination by any political party to be the next President of the United States!

I am proud of this fact. And I want my son to know that when I say the words, “You can be president one day,” he will see that it really is possible. I didn’t think I’d see this day. I really didn’t. Three years ago, I had a conversation with a co-worker who said that Obama would run for and become president. I said he was too green and he’d never do it.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

When I look back at the history of my days, I can remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard the Challenger exploded.

I remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard about the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma.

I remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard about Columbine. I watched it happen before my eyes.

I remember every moment of the morning of September 11, 2001, from the minute I first heard on the radio that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Towers.

And now I am witnessing history again. I will remember where I was and what I was doing as I watched Barack Obama declare himself the Democratic nominee. And I will forever remember Hillary’s speech – ungracious and strident - much like she has been throughout her campaign.

There’s still a long way to go on this journey for Sen. Obama. He still has to actually be nominated in Denver in August. He has to run the campaign and win in November.

But tonight, I stand witness to history. I stand witness for my grandparents and my mother, who didn’t live to see this day. I stand witness for my son who has no clue of what is happening and why it is so significant.

But I stand witness for myself – for my past, my present and my future.

Anatomy of a (soon-to-be) Bestseller – the Prologue

It all started with a song.

Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men did a duet, “One Sweet Day”. The lyrics were beautiful: “And I know you’re shining down on me from heaven/Like so many friends we’ve lost along the way/And I know eventually we’ll be together/One sweet day.” The song got me thinking about my mom (who was still with me at the time) and I knew that one day she’d be gone. That got me thinking about a character who had lost the people most precious to her and how she’d react. I couldn’t get the story out of my head. So I went to Borders, bought a journal and started writing down the stuff in my head.

Thus, “One Sweet Day” was born. At least the first 3 chapters.

At the time (2000), I had no idea how to write a novel or even if I could. I wrote down plot points and where I thought the story was going. And I wrote down the scenes as they came.

Then – nothing.

I put it aside and forgot about it. Or tried to.

Later that year, I started writing fanfic based on The West Wing. I asked a couple of my friends what they thought about my stories. Their response? “What happened to the other story – the novel? Finish that!”

But I couldn’t. So I concentrated on creating fanfic. But little by little, “One Sweet Day” kept creeping back into my consciousness. So I worked on it. And worked on it some more. And I kept dropping it and picking it back up. The whole time, my long-time friend and (soon-to-be) editor, Michelle, kept after me to finish.

And I did.

Or so I thought.

To be continued…