Novels

Back to Hiaasen

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

I’d forgotten what a great writer Carl Hiaasen is. In the last week, while I focused on everything imaginable to keep one of my animals alive and recovering steadily, my focus was hardly on reading, much as I tried.

I started The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo, certain that her magic would be a welcome respite from the vigilance I needed to keep over Gypsy Rose, lest she fall and seriously hurt herself. Sad to say, I finished the book, but could not appreciate the magic in my frazzled state, so I added Kate back to the waiting-to-be-read books stack. When I pick this book up again, I know I will be in a better place to appreciate one of my favorite children’s book authors.

At the oft-mentioned annual library book sale, I picked up Carl Hiaasen’s Skinny Dip. I’ve read a couple of his other novels – Sick Puppy, (which I kept), Lucky You and Basket Case – but none recently. I was drawn to this book as being a perfect read right now. Not only was I right, but I now remember how much I enjoy his writing. Aside from an excellent use of the English language, Hiaasen has a tongue-in-cheek, lightly sarcastic sense of humor injected with an appreciation of the absurd that makes for not just enjoyable reading, but sometimes laugh-out-loud funny.

His stories take place in South Florida and center around murder, personal greed, and political corruption. Those that I’ve read are intricately laced with the issues that challenge the area’s environmental survival, yet these never jump out at you or intrude. In Skinny Dip, Joey Perrone is heaved overboard a luxury cruise liner by her husband Chaz. She knows too much about something illicit he is involved in, and as a secondary gain to her murder, Chaz plans to eventually figure out how to inherit her millions. But he dismisses her having been a collegiate champion swimmer, and with the waters being as shark infested as they are, he assumes she will be dead or presumed so. Her survival is known by only one other person, Mick, a retired detective who rescues her from the shallow waters just offshore. “Instead of rushing to the police and reporting her husband’s crime, Joey decides to stay dead and (with Mick’s help) screw with Chaz until he screws himself.” Throw in a droll Norwegian detective, Karl Rolvaag, and Hiaasen’s humor and Skinny Dip has all the makings of another great tale, and I’m only five chapters in.

Thanks, Carl, I believe I’m back to reading!

Keeping Your Dream in Sight

/ still a dreamer

If you are pursuing a dream of any kind, then this post is for you. As mentioned in a previous post regarding the NJ SCBWI June Conference, it can be daunting for those of us who have full time work and/or family commitments to hang tight to the magic that occurs at events such as this or at any other inspiring event. I’m thinking of spiritual retreats, internships, especially away from home, intense volunteering experiences, educational conferences, etc. Want to keep your dream going? Here are some things that I put in motion so my dream is always an important part of my life:

* Upon return, review all notes, literature, etc to refresh your memory.

* Make lists – I’m big on lists – of what you will want to do. Make a list of things that need to be done now or in the next day or so, and one of what will need to be done in the near future and going forward.

* Make a plan for the second list – how will you accomplish it, what’s your time frame for completing what you want to do?

* Decide on how much time you can spend every day pursuing your dream. Then decide when you will do that. Early, before you need to tackle your daily work and obligations? Or late, when you can put all that aside? Decide and try to stick to it. In her talk with SCBWI Conference attendees, Kate DiCamillo said she writes 2 pages, single-spaced, every single day first thing in the morning. She does this before her critic gets up which is some time later in the morning when she attends to editing, a very different task.

* Give yourself a constant visual reminder of your goal – not an accusation, just a reminder. Mine is on my Mac where I work.

* Limit unnecessary time in e-mail and on the web, social media, etc. The web can be a huge drain on your time; do your best to do what’s important and then get off, even if it means shutting down those programs or your computer.

* Keep what you’re working on in plain sight, rather than neatly tucking it away. If you have animals or children with access to these places, figure something out. It’s important that you be able to “jump right back in” when you’re able rather than slow yourself down in set-up.

* Keep in touch with fellow travelers on your path and find time to connect with those who share and support your dream.

* Keep up with what’s going on in your “field of dreams” without spending unnecessary time on it. (‘Unnecessary’ always a key word here!) Be inspired – go to art galleries, read books, take yoga, a gardening class – whatever it is that will feed you.

* Journal daily. I have found this especially useful, and it’s recommended by Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, and many others as a way of freeing up your energy. First thing in the morning is best.

* Find some time to daydream, to envision your future as having already achieved the goals you set out to accomplish. Be there.

* Be kind to yourself. Keep track of procrastination and try to chuck that, but don’t be overly hard on yourself, either.

Hopefully, these will help you in pursuing your dream and not seem too obvious. When I stick with them, they all work for me.

“If one advances confidently in the direction of one’s dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”   – Henry David Thoreau

Inspiration from the 2012 NJ SCBWI Conference

/ still a dreamer

WHAT A FABULOUS CONFERENCE!!

I don’t want to lose one minute of the excitement and inspiration. However … I know I am not alone in coming home from a weekend of total immersion in children’s books at the June NJ SCBWI Conference to find that life “as we knew it” is alive and well and waiting for us at the door. Kids and pets, bills and deadlines, meal prep and taxes …. they really did only disappear for those two (or three) fabulous days. And how wonderfully inspiring those days were … and with all our food cooked for us, too. Ahhhhh.

So now we’re back. And as has been true in each year past, the challenge remains … to not lose the forward momentum that was inspired by meeting with agents and editors, art directors and other faculty, and sharing with our peers. I believe most of us come with certain goals in common and with certain individual goals as well. I believe that all of us come to find the avenue – or additional avenues – to be published, and/or represented by an agent, and to bring our writing and illustrating talents to the eyes and ears of children and young adults.

Some of us come looking for the first steps towards that goal … information about the field of children’s book publishing, and others for the nitty gritty of how we can get further along the road. I came with my own missions as did you. One of mine was to get guidance on a particular story I’ve been working on, and I was richly rewarded by the insight of the agent I chose to meet with on that and on other aspects of my work. I came to learn more about how I could improve my illustration and my portfolio, and was rewarded in several ways, some quite unexpected.

I came to be inspired. I came to be reminded, following a very difficult year, that despite all challenges, I am a children’s book author and illustrator. I am. Having a published book in my hand is not what defines me; but yes, it is the significant mark of progress and success along my path to which I aspire. I came to gather the momentum I needed to move forward and become, in more and richer ways, who and what I am.

I suspect, no matter how you choose to phrase it, that that is why you attended the SCBWI Conference as well … to be who you are. May we all find the inspiration, from both without and within, to follow our path and be able to say and believe … I am a children’s book author and illustrator.

Soon … some tips in keeping our dream alive!

Books vs. Movies – Part 1

/ still a dreamer

There’s something exciting about reading a terrific book and then going to the movies to watch the film created from it.  However, I, and most folks I know, are of the opinion that the book generally outshines the movie, if for no other reason that so much of a book’s depth and detail cannot possibly be portrayed in the short time allowed for a film. This is not always the case, but I get ahead of myself.

Having recently read The Bridges of Madison County, I rented the movie. I must say I was really disappointed. First, the book is a very short novel; the movie ran 2-1/4 hours long. As mentioned in an earlier post where I wrote about the book, I had my doubts about Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood cast as the main characters — both outstanding actors, but I didn’t imagine them in these roles. Again, my personal opinion. I would have much preferred Sam Elliot, or even Kevin Costner, (as he is now), as Robert Kincaid; maybe I’ve just seen Clint Eastwood in too many hard and/or violent roles. Meryl Streep, so brilliant, just couldn’t cut it for me as an Italian woman, now Iowa farm wife. It really took away from the story, and that seemed so drawn out over the course of the 2+ hour movie. I’d stick with the book.

So I’m wondering … did you read the book and/or see the movie? Who might you picture in the roles of Francesca and Robert? Or did Eastwood and Streep fill the bill for you?

p.s. This is just Part 1. Down the road, we’re going to have some fun with Part 2 and onward … it’s all about reading and imagination and what we see.

The Bridges of Madison County

/ still a dreamer

This story by Robert James Waller is a wonderful, short novel – the depiction of a romance, an affair, between two people whose paths crossed in a juncture in time and space which neither expected. The thought that seems to stay with me about the author’s style is that he writes with the heart of a woman, but the pen of a man. This is not a criticism, but rather a compliment. He tells the story of  Robert Kincaid and Francesca Johnson with the lush feel of romance that a woman knows in her heart, yet without a touch of cloying sentimentality. Waller writes with a rich, but simple and straightforward style that I would generally attribute to a man. It’s a great combination and makes The Bridges of Madison County a fast and engrossing read.

The gentle unfolding of this once-in-a-lifetime experience for the two of them and the simply told background of both characters made them especially real to me. I also really appreciated how the loose ends were tied up in the discovery of Kincaid’s belongings and Francesca’s letter after her death to her two adult children, then followed by an interview with a jazz musician in Washington who’d come to know Kincaid before he died. It was all beautifully done.

The romantic affair that lasted for four days while Kincaid was on assignment for National Geographic and Francesca’s family was away for the week at the state fair was the focus – and gem – of the book. Who wouldn’t be sent dreaming a bit after reading this novel?

As for the movie, I added it to my Netflix queue, but I must say I have my questions about Meryl Streep, brilliant as she is, as an Italian. I know Clint Eastwood plays Robert Kincaid, but I see Clint Eastwood as a bit more hard-edged than I saw Kincaid. He’s an excellent actor, but I’m not imagining that wild romantic streak of Kincaid. I guess I’ll just have to see on that one. I’m always ready to be surprised.

Here is the video and song that Robert James Waller created based on his book. Quality not great, but the song is fantastic. What a talented man.