Ten Things That Make Me Happy

1. Sunshine. It's out there, people, and I like it.
2. Caramel Syrup. Recipe on demand.
3. Good books. Try "The Chosen One" by Carol Lynch Williams. It's gripping.
4. Nearly-toothless six-year-old boys. Honestly, how does he eat?
5. Relaxing Sundays with yummy food in the company of good friends.
6. Yoga on wii Fit.
7. Homemade bread - made by someone else (thanks, Kim!)
8. Drainage. Dripping. Melting noises. Mmmm.
9. Blue-painted toenails.
10. Knowing by morning what's for dinner.

FAQ

I love when writers post their FAQ. So I'll give you all a little important information. Here are the things I get asked most frequently:

Q: Do I have any clean pants, Mom?

A: Did you put them in a hamper? Because if you did, I washed them. If they were carefully wadded up under your bed, they're still there.

Q: What's for dinner?

A: Check the calendar. I wrote it down.

Q: What do you think I should do?

A: (tearing my hair)

-- Oh - were you expecting writing questions? Those come, too. --

Q: What do you do with all your extra money?

A: (Laughing maniacally) Is there such a thing as extra?

Q: But don't writers make lots of money?

A: Writers who write lots of popular* books make lots of money.

Q: Here's a great idea for a book. Want to write it?

A: Probably not. I've got ideas - that's the easy part. The actual writing is where it gets a little tricky.

Q: What's the best part of being a writer?

A: Daily naps. Second best? Writer friends.

Q: How do you find the time to write?

A: Every day comes filled with twenty-four hours. I choose what I put in those hours (and how long each thing will take) - at least to some extent. I prioritize. I wake up early. I never clean my house if I can help it.** I have 4 kids in school. I minimize other commitments. I don't answer the phone. I do much less PTA than my guilt tells me I should. I hit my daily writing goal and then I move on to something else (like a whole lot of picking up and dropping off of adorable kids).

Q:Your characters sound like you.

A: That is not a question.

Q: Okay, I'll try again. Do you write yourself into your books?

A: There has to be something autobiographical in every writing - even if it's to say: This is what I don't really believe. It's natural to put yourself into your writing, because you come with a certain viewpoint, a set of lenses through which you see the world. It's good to change lenses when you write, but recognize that the lenses are there. Also, um, yeah. I do write myself.

Q: Do you write fiction because you're scared of the Truth?

A: I write fiction because it's my favorite vehicle for Truth. The True parts are what remain after the story is over.

Q: When is your next book coming out?

A: Technically March 4th (I think). Really? Any time. (You can already pre-order on some sites!)

Q: What are you working on now?

A: Something that's starting to take shape after 15,000 useless words. Sometimes I have to write for the sake of writing - flex a muscle every day. That leads to a whole lot of useless c-r-a-p. But maybe eventually the character will emerge and demand her story to be told. That's the magic part.

And there you have it - some of the things people ask me regularly. Want to know anything else? Your socks are under the couch. You're welcome.

*I almost said "good" books, but that isn't necessarily the same thing.

**I'd love for you to think that's a joke.

My Little Life in Bullets

Today is The Day!

(*) I have a few hours of getting-ready time, and then I spend the day on airplanes. And read books. And end up on Oahu. I must let it escape: WHEE! WOOT! WAHOO!

(*) In other news, Kid 2 received an iPod for Christmas, because her Daddy is good to her. She named this iPod "The Ship" and it tickles her fancy to plug it in to the computer and see these words: "The Ship is Synching."

(*) And this: My little Mama came to hang out yesterday, and she gave me a perm. It looks great. Mostly just wavy, and now I won't have to do my hair in Hawaii. Just shake and scrunch, you know? But. It stinks, and I am going to be in very close quarters to strangers all day. How 'bout that? Not very neighborly of me, was it?

(*) Does anyone remember how to do Algebra 2? Factoring is causing Kid 1 and me to bond over tears. If we were drinkers.... But we're not. Just criers, apparently.

(*) Got a call from the school. Among others, these words, "just wanted to warn you... when the boy comes home with his head a bloddy mess... he's fine, went back to class... no sign of concussion." Okay, then. Good news.

(*) And: "The Magician's Elephant" (by Ms. DiCamillo) only brought tears from me, because I was reading aloud*, and Kid 3, who regularly cries in pretty much any book.** Find it. You won't be disappointed. And I want to write a book with a kid named something as wonderful as Peter Augustus Duchene. Just saying.

(*) I found out that I get to play a narrator*** in "Joseph and the Amazing Techincolor Dreamcoat" in community theatre (yes. you do have to spell it that way. it's rules.) this spring. There will be 3 narrators. I (at 5'6'') will be the short one. Also the alto. I am very delighted to get to do this, and all four Kids are in the children's chorus. Fun family bonding, right? If I were a bookie (the betting kind) I would put the odds of us getting Husband near the stage at about seventeen trillion to one. Any takers?

And you? How was YOUR day?

*Don't you think it's harder to keep it all in control when you're reading aloud? I had to practice long and hard before I could read "The Polar Express" aloud on the train excursion my Kids and I volunteer on every Christmas. Years of practice. Now I'm a stone-cold emotionless Machine.

**Calvin and Hobbes, Series of Unfortunate Events, the Refrigerator Manual. (Yes. I'm lying. She hates the refrigerator manual and refuses to read it. Ever again.)

***If you're going to get a "leading" role in any theatre production, and you're not really interested in kissing someone who isn't your Husband, this is the role to get.

The Eggs Are In The Basket

Look what you did!

It worked. It came. The package arrived yesterday afternoon (because my personal postal worker loves the hour from 4.30 to 5.30). It has inside the paperback "Bourne Identity" which remains my favorite spy novel EVER, as well as Barbara Kingsolver's "The Lacuna" which I bought because I love her other work, most especially "The Poisonwood Bible" (which you really would love and should try if you haven't - even though it's reallllllly long [not a problem for me] the VOICES will speak right directly into your brain. Brilliant.) Also Robert McKee's "Story" which it technically for screenwriters, so technically for Husband and me to share, but also because I hear its fabulous.

So thanks, dears, for your Schopenhauer-esque positive thinking. I'll let you know when I'm in contract negotiations!

Where, oh Where Has My Amazon Package Gone?

I just checked that "Where's My Stuff" page at Amazon and found that my books are scheduled to arrive the day after I leave for my trip. (The trip to Hawaii. That trip.)

So here's an experiment. How's about we all pick one, or two, or all of these:

• pray my package arrives early
• put it out to the Universe
• wish to the Giant Panda
• meditate on it, visualising me holding my books

and maybe it will happen. I'll be sure to let you know!

And maybe someday I'll actually pay for shipping, instead of taking advantage of the Super Saver. Wait. Who am I kidding? Maybe someday I'll actually order two weeks early. That's more like it.

Sunday Soul Food

Can I talk to you for just a minute about Roast Potatoes?

This is Happy-Making food here at our house. It is the most hands-off sort of thing to put in an oven, and it guarantees pleased children and cleared plates. It's as easy as scrubbing potatoes, chunking them*, dumping them into a baking pan, drizzling with olive oil, dusting with Kosher salt**, stirring it up, and baking at 425. I like to stir now and then, because I want all the edges to crunch. It cooks for nearly an hour when I have nearly an hour, or more like 40 minutes when I have 40 minutes. It goes with anything*** and warms us up from mouth to soul.

So we will come home from Church today to Kate DiCamillo's gorgeous The Magician's Elephant **** and a "roaring" gas fire while we roast our potatoes. I love Sundays. Hope yours is peaceful, too.

*That's a scientific measurement. It results in pieces that are about the size of an olden-days ice cube - remember ice cube trays? Like that. If your potatoes (and your chunks) are the right size, every piece gets crunchy skin on. Mmm.

**I'm not a salt "snob" exactly, even though I have at least 4 kinds of salt in my house at any time. The Kosher salt is crunchy and it doesn't disappear during baking. But also? These potatoes become Sunday Potatoes if you replace the salt with that dry Onion Soup Mix, which you can pay $1.25 for under the name Lipton, or $0.30 as a store brand. You're welcome.

***Okay, not pasta. But YUM with a loaded green salad (like with carrots and cukes and cheese and kidney beans and artichoke hearts and tomatoes and pretty red-and-orange-and-yellow peppers and olives and croutons and three kinds of lettuces and green onions and capers).

****This is my favorite of her two that came out this year. I do love our Mercy Watson, but that one (Something Wonky This Way Comes) was bittersweet, since it's the last in the series. But Magician's Elephant? Striking. Spare. Magical. Family-centric. Hopeful. Lyrical. Lovely.

Holding the Happy

Hey, guess what? I've got something to tell you... I received a small box of small books. Really pretty books with a cute swoony redhead on the cover. And also on the cover? My name. Right down there in the lower right corner.

And I discovered something about myself, about how I work. Something about my M.O., my style, my heart. I am a giver-away-er. I want to give a book to everyone I know. Also strangers. And Libraries. And set them in public places, like waiting rooms and bus stops and grocery lines.

Husband laughs.

I laugh, too, because I know it's silly to give away all the twenty books Mr. Publisher gave me.*

But.

I want to give one. Just one. Here's the deal. You leave me a comment, telling me either:

1. The best book you've ever read that's a romance but not a Romance, if you know what I mean, or

2. Your most embarrassing slip-up regarding a "person of interest" of the opposite gender, or

3. Who you will share "My Ridiculous Romantic Obsessions" with (after you read it) if you win a copy (bonus points if they blog)**

Easy, right? I'll choose a random winner on, um, let's see... Thursday morning. Yes, dear, I know that's a holiday. But I'll be home, and you can check in anytime. Please don't let me disturb your busy social schedule.

As for softening your despair if you aren't the random winner... I hear rumors. See, this book is published by Shadow Mountain, who is owned by Deseret Book. So even though the official release date is March 4th or something (I only know that because in a fit of insanity I checked on Barnes&Noble's website), books are being spotted at Deseret Book stores near you.*** And if I were less lazy, I'd go check the Shadow Mountain website to see if you can order online. Oh, all right. Hold on, please.

(Hm, hm, hm....****)

Yeah, okay. Maybe not online yet. But soon. Soon, I tell you! (as far as I know)

OH, YEAH - also, my toe is mending. Thank you. I can sleep. I can breathe in and out. I can hobble. I have to put on shoes later this morning. Pray for me.

So have a happy day, please. And if you want to be a winner, just know that you already are, in my book. But not necessarily OF my book. You know what I mean.

*There aren't twenty left. Because... well, haven't you heard what I've been saying?

**That is a lie. This will be random. Because I'm feeling sort of random, you know?

***I mean, if you live near a Deseret Book Store. You understand.

***That's your hold music. Hope you enjoyed it.

How Publishing Is Like Giving Birth. And Also Not.

Like: There's this beautiful new thing, and I want everyone to see it.

Not Like: I invite a whole lot more people to come around at delivery when it's a book.

Like: There's that gasp of surprise and delight to see it whole and shiny.

Not Like: Much less mess.

Like: I find myself telling people all kinds of details they SO don't care about.

Not Like: Nobody really even pretends to be interested*.

Like: I just know someday, someone is going to say mean things about it. And it will hurt.

Not Like: I don't have to listen to critics. I can pretend they don't exist. (But bullies are real. Forever.)

Like: There will be mistakes, and I might be embarrassed.

Not Like: They're all MY mistakes. (Worse, right?)

Like: I love this new thing.

Not Like: It doesn't need me - my work is done.

Like: It still keeps me up at night.

Not Like: I can't rock it back to sleep.

Like: I find myself in there, when I peer. (Does anyone else love that word? Peer. Try it. Peer. Mmm.)

Not Like: Chances aren't good that it will take care of me when I'm old.

*This is a complete lie. Everyone is interested. Or pretending to be. And that is fun, fun.

Crossing Stones

I found this book at the library. This may not seem like such a surprise to you, but it's always a thrill. I live in a small town that houses a small county library, and although it has a fireplace (+), it also has a huge metal staircase running directly through the main room (-). I tell you this to illustrate that some of the choices made in relation to the library are... weird.

But.

Crossing Stones by Helen Frost.

This is a beautiful piece of historical fiction/poetry. (Dont' be scared. It's easy poetry to handle.) It takes place between April 1917 and January 1918 and blasts right into the US involvement in World War I and the women's suffrage movement. Three characters tell the story chapter by chapter. Muriel's words flow physically and aurally like the stream that separates her home from the Norman's. Her brother Ollie and her best friend Emma narrate in (you won't even know it when you're reading it) sonnets that represent the stones in the creek - the crossing stones that get the families from one side to the other.

Muriel pushes the boundaries of society's expectations, but in a gentle way. "Maybe you won't rock a cradle, Muriel. / Some women prefer to rock the boat." There is joy and pain, aching and resilience, comfort and the unknown.

Well, what are you waiting for? Go read it.

Let's Get Together, Yeah-Yeah-Yeah

Are you Christmas shopping in Utah? Come see me!

I'll be at the Orem University Village Deseret Book (that's by University Mall) on Friday December 11th with the lovely Ally Condie and Lisa Mangum from 6:00 until 8:00. After 8:00 we'll be going out to dinner, and you're welcome to join us. But. Only. If you promise not to be offended by our humor or wet yourself in direct relation to our comedy. (Hey, I understand, it could happen - I'm just asking for your effort. )

Also, because I'm an equal-opportunity DB signer, I'll be at the Deseret Book at Fort Union from noon till 2 on Saturday, December 19th. Other exciting authors (maybe some who have been tearing up the Kirkus review, just maybe) will also be there. Plus, there's a bakery. I'm just saying.

And if not? I just stumbled upon the fact that Bright Blue Miracle is now available for your Kindle. Who knew? Click on the cover over there in my sidebar and you can find all manner of information about it. (I think you should know that I don't have a Kindle, or any other kind of e-Reader. I am a bookie. No, not like that. Like I'm a foodie. I love me a real, page-y book. But if you're a Kindle sort of person {or know someone who is} that there's another easy gift idea...)

Happy Shopping, friends!

Once Was Lost (an Interview with Sara Zarr)

"Samara Taylor used to believe in miracles.

She used to believe in a lot of things.

But where there was once faith...

there are now only questions."

Sara Zarr's "Once Was Lost" (Published by Little, Brown in October 2009) is the entwining of a personal crisis of faith and a community's shared crisis - a missing teenage girl. Sam, the main character, feels abandoned - left behind by her mom, who is doing a stint in a rehab unit, and emotionally abandoned by her pastor father. And the faith that used to come so easily? It seems to be lost, too.

Sara recently agreed to answer a few questions for me (even though she's officially on a blog-vacation), so you could all see a little behind the scenes of her book and her world. Awesome, right?

Here goes:

Becca: I want to be really nosy and ask you how this book reflects some of your personal faith. How do you tap into your faith to carry you through your own struggles? Are you a reader? A pray-er? A counselor?

Sara: I don't have a ritual or routine related my faith or religious practice. Generally, the way my faith carries me through goes something like this: I go through an independent, self-sufficient stage, mostly ignoring my spiritual practices; life gets harder to manage; I hit a wall/have a crisis/sink into despair; I return to my spiritual practices, find a state of relative peace and think, "Oh yeah, why did I neglect this for so long?". I stick with it awhile, feel better, and go back to stage one. Et cetera. My goal for growth is to learn to not wait for despair before returning to my faith, but I seem to have not figured that out yet.

Becca: That sounds incredibly familiar. I think that sort of cycle is universal, until we may someday achieve that sort of mental/spiritual/emotional growth that we all strive for. So now, I want to know which of the characters you identify with most. I have an assumption, having followed your blog for quite a while - but do you appear anywhere in this book?

Sara: Not to be cryptic, but I appear everywhere in all my books. For me, it's necessary to identify with every character in some way. Otherwise, I can't do them justice and make them live on the page. So of course I identify very much with the narrator, Sam---especially her frustration with and anger at God or at what she's grown up believing about God. I also identify with Erin, the youth group leader, though maybe that's more about her backstory that's not part of this novel. Sam's dad, too, is someone I understand. There is a lot of pressure on him to be all things to all people, and in trying to juggle that he's bound to drop something. As a classic people-pleaser, I get that.

Becca: (Is anyone surprised that I connect with this woman? I've already embroidered that last couple sentences on a pillow and printed in in vinyl letters for my bathroom wall. Okay. That was a lie, but you know what I mean.) Sam's view of the world (and of God) shifts in this book. Do you think she's settled? Or will her views continue to change? (Not to sound like I think your characters are alive in a weird, creepy way...)

Sara: Ha - I understand. They are alive to me and, I hope, to the reader. I do picture the characters moving forward in their lives without my help. Sam's view changes, but subtly, and I don't think she's settled. I don't think any of us are ever settled, and definitely not at age fifteen. Young adult fiction is so much about firsts. This is about another first---a first crisis of faith, a first dark night of the soul. I'm sure there are more ahead. In my books, change tends to come in tiny but significant movements rather than in big dramatic epiphanies. I think life is made up of those tiny changes by degree.

Becca: (Because I can't help it, this has to be a little about me...) I grew up as a non-Catholic kid in a very Catholic town, and I understand what it means to be "other". You have written about being an "other" in a fairly Mormon city. Does that distinction affect your worship? Your writing? Your politics? Your passions?

Sara: Where you live affects everything. Moving to Utah from San Francisco was definitely a big change, but it's been good in that it makes me think more specifically about what I believe, and I'm constantly being confronted by some of the assumptions and I make about others and the stereotypes I buy into. I have a lot of LDS friends now and know you can never say, "Mormons think X, Mormons believe Y." My politics are the same but the context puts me on different places on the spectrum. In San Francisco my politics seemed a little more conservative, but put the exact same politics in Utah and suddenly I'm aware that many here would describe me as a liberal. Labels are popular here, and I resist them more than ever.

Becca: I understand. Labels are dangerous - once I said on your blog something like a label is never enough, and sometimes too much. But I feel inclined to label myself sometimes. Maybe it's a way to ground (attach) myself to something. But, you know, back to you... Now that the book is finished and out there in the hands of readers, what are you working on? Do you take a break when a book is finished, or do you work every day?

Sara: I'm working on another YA novel for Little, Brown. If I feel like I need a break, I take one, but generally the break I need isn't from writing itself, more from the career end of being published...the being "on," being public, reading reviews, the editorial process. Writing a new book and being in that stage when I'm the only one who knows what it is, the only one who sees it, is enough of a break. And right now I'm on hiatus from social networking, blog reading, industry news, and all of that, and enjoying it immensely. I've been traveling a lot since September and didn't get much work done other than promoting Once Was Lost, so now that I'm home I try to work every weekday.

Becca: (Isn't she an inspiration?) Thanks a ton for taking time to answer these questions, for being approachable. I appreciate the beautiful thing you've created. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Sara: Thanks for having me!

(Applause, Applause)

And when you're ready to get to know Sara, be sure to read this post. When I did, I loved her even more.

Kinder, Gentler Kids' Stories

Kid 4, home from Kindergarten, has just finished reading me a story (we call this homework). He read the library book he checked out from school. It's "3 Little Pigs" - a version from the early 70s. He's reading along, and here comes the wolf to the first little pig. He huffs, puffs, blows and ... eats the pig up.

Kid 4's eyes widen, his voice softens in wonder, and he asks, with half a grin, "Did you hear that. Mom? He ate the pig. I bet I know what's going to happen next!" He was terribly entertained by this more grisly version. Every page brought that half-scandalized, half-amused face, along with that adorable "I bet I can guess..."

Something has happened (and I am generally for it) to soften our little kids' stories. We feed our kids fairy tales and fables and legends, but the early versions (like Brothers Grimm) are beastly. Witches dance themselves to death in hot iron shoes. Mermaids turn to sea-foam. Princes' eyes are gouged out by rogue brambles. There is wholesale death and destruction on every page.

This is children's literature? These are the stories we read them... before they sleep? I am glad and grateful for the softening of kids' stories. I even prefer the cheesy Disney versions of the classic tales, because they have songs. And we all know how I feel about songs. Yay. Not that I think we have to shelter our kids from all issues. There are things they should feel curious about, and there's no safer place to explore that curiosity than in a book. But. But. I choose to keep them as young as possible for as long as possible. So bring on the gentle books.

Question Blog

Becca, did you do your assignment you (nearly) promised yesterday that you would do? I just did my homework. I wrote about a time I "bonded" with someone. It was a good exercise. I remembered something I haven't thought about in nearly 10 years. Did I write anything in my WIP? Nope. So sue me.*

Becca, what's going on with your book that's in editing? I'm hearing rumors about my new cover. I haven't seen it yet. I hope to, soonly**. I'll show it off as soon as I have permission. And Lovely Editor is working on smoothing everything out, wordwise.

Becca, if you could never publish another novel, would you still write novels? Um, yes. And maybe that little caveat would make them better. Hm.

Becca, do you have a favorite blog post (that you've written)? Oh. That I've written. Yes. But it's not very fun. Good writing, serious emotion. Here it is, again. And also, this one, which is much less serious. Thank you for asking. Do you?

Becca, what are you reading right now? I assume you mean the right now that I'm not typing this post. In that case, UNWIND by N. Shusterman. Shuddery-good. And also SAVVY by Ingrid Law. Funny, sweet, great. Neither have I finished. I'm thinking about reading SAVVY to the Kids for read-aloud fun, but I wonder if I need to finish pre-reading first.

Becca, what are your favorite books that you haven't written? You assume much, grasshopper. In no particular order: THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY by Shaffer and Burrows, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Mistress Jane Austen, PEACE LIKE A RIVER by Lief Enger, THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak, TODAY I WILL FLY by Mo Willems***, LES MISERABLES by Victor Hugo, and THE POISONWOOD BIBLE by Barbara Kingsolver.

Becca, what are you doing to keep yourself busy with Husband out of town? Um, 4 kids on 4 school schedules, writing long blog posts, napping (just kidding, Husband!), not much housecleaning (but it will happen... someday), riding my bike, yoga, watching not-very-trashy chick-flicks, and cooking food. And eating food. And cleaning up the kitchen, hiding evidence of all that food.

Becca, what's going on with that play you teased us about? Oh. Right. Annie Get Your Gun. Kids 1 and 2 and I are "ensemble" cast members, which requires a couple evenings a week, Saturday mornings, and no line memorizing. It's perfect. You know, for small-town community theater. Our Annie is great - she's got such a voice on her. Yowza.

Becca, if we have more burning questions, what should we do? Why, leave them in the comments, certainly. I'll be happy to answer all manner of questions you ask, along with those you don't.

*Except, don't.

**That was a Grandpappy word. He was my dad's dad. And a certifiable Grammar Snob. So it's okay to use it.

***Who is, in case you've maybe been on a different planet for the last 10 years, a GENIUS.