Megan Hart

Come on out and meet me January 31st from 2-4 pm
Waldenbooks
Lebanon Valley Mall
Lebanon, PA

So, I got the Seasons expansion pack for my Sims 2 and it’s a lot of fun, though I got some custom content and it’s a little wonky, it shut down on me, but that’s okay. I have…a Keanu Sim. (though he looks a little like my minion,Chris Winters!!) No pictures yet, but maybe soon. It’s very fun to play, though. It rained in my neighborhood!

My Sims can plant things now, and watch them grow, and that got me to thinking. Well, lots of things got me to thinking, but that’s what prompted me thinking about this.

You have a garden. You plant seeds. You water them, you fertilize them. You tend them. You watch them grow. If you take care of your garden, you get flowers, or fruits, or vegetables. And yes, there are things that can happen that are out of your control — drought, weather, insects. Things beyond your making can ruin your garden. And you can ruin it, too, though you might not mean to. You might water it too much, or not weed it heartily enough; you might cut back the plants too far so they can’t thrive, or you leave them wild too long and they can’t be tamed. You can ruin your garden by accident.

But your garden, ultimately, is what you make of it. You will reap what you have sown (oh, how biblical that sounds) — and you can blame the rabbits for eating your carrots, or the crows for getting into the corn, and you can bemoan the fact you didn’t know roses won’t thrive if their roots are too wet. You can blame the world for ruining your garden, or you can take the blame for your own actions.

But in the end…your garden is what you make of it.

You will harvest what you planted.

So if you look around and your garden is in ruins — if the fruit you’ve picked is sour on your tongue and the flowers rot in your fingers — if your harvest is unfulfilling and can not nourish you — you’d better be prepared to accept your part in why it happened that way.

M

Saturday January 31
2-4 pm
Lebanon Valley Mall

I’ll be signing copies of my books. Come on out and say hi!

Ok, here’s the thing: I know a lot more about what happens in my books than actually goes in them. I mean, I know backstory and I know front story; I know what happens to the characters after the final page and I know what happened to them before it began. Not all of this gets into the story, sometimes because it’s not necessary and sometimes because it’s not supposed to be in there.

But if it’s not in the book, I don’t necessarily know what happened. If I didn’t write it, I might have an idea about the course of events, but if I didn’t actually put it to paper it only exists in my head and therefore, didn’t really *happen* in the book world. It can still change. So while I might think a character did something or not, unless I’ve actually written it down in the story, that’s not necessarily what DID happen, if that makes sense.

Also, some stuff is left up to you, the reader, to decide.

But some stuff I *know* without a doubt is true, I just don’t put it in the story. But because it’s not in the story, you’re welcome to form your own conclusions.

So, one small piece of trivia for you readers, that may or may not make you feel differently about BROKEN. And you might feel differently about my opinion of the scene, too, which is fine, too, whatever floats your boat.

In my head, the scene with Joe and the three women? … He made it up. It was just a story.

M

Like it.

And it’s still good to love your work!

M

edit: I wrote this yesterday but I’m only uploading it today…

Sittin’ here, at this lonely blog…

So, last night I drove down to Glenside to check out Joshua Radin at the Keswick Theater. Bit of a difference from the last time I saw him play in a small, 100-seat theater. This place held, oh…900 people or so? And most of the seats were filled. He was playing with Dar Williams, who I don’t know, but of course I was there to listen to Joshua play and I’m so glad I went. He wore a white button-down shirt. That’s not such a big deal, is it? But I think that’s the fanciest I’ve ever seen him get for a show (and this is number…I’ve lost track.) Anyway, I guess when you see a performer play live so many times in so many different types of venues, it is no longer as much about the songs he or she sings as it is the differences or similarities in the shows.

And he sang WHAT IF YOU. Happy sigh… What if You isn’t my favorite song by J.R. but it’s the one I listened to over and over while writing Broken and the reason I acknowledged him in the dedication. I love that song and he’s never played it live when I was there, so it was a real treat for me. No pictures this time, we didn’t hang around afterwards and it’s unlikely the performers came out because of the crowd and venue.

But…Dear Josh,
You can write happy songs about love and sex, I know it. I know you can! Please try.
Love, Megan Hart

Now I’m sitting here at the Barnes and Noble, thinking of writing, mostly not. Listening to Joshua’s VEGETABLE CAR song (which I dreamed about last night, over and over, the line about Lisa Loeb glasses in particular. I won’t get into the other details about the dream but let’s just say I woke up laughing and shaking my head at my imagination. And thinking of how on earth could I put that in a book, knowing that it would make no sense whatsoever but was sooooo the set up for a novel if I could only figure out a way to make it at all believable.”

Vegetable car, baby. “I barely know who you are, but I’d sure like to ask you to stay.”

So, what else? Well…I am immersed in TAKEN (the title I really don’t like but I can’t come up with anything better!!) and I keep thinking about it and thinking about it. So I guess that means I’ve reached the point where I’m living inside it. I can’t quite figure the motivation for them to get where I want them but I sure as hell know where they’re going to go once I get them there.

Alex Kennedy. Do you know he’s very popular? Probably the most popular hero I’ve ever written, at least based on things people have said or sent me. So there’s a lot riding on his book. I have stay true to his character (but keep in mind, people change, time has passed and Alex was never written to be stupid – if he didn’t learn a lesson, a big one, from his summer in Anne and James’ house, I don’t want to write about him.) But there are lots of details I know about him because I’ve been thinking about him so much and I know him better than I do the heroine, Olivia, which is not usually the way it works, but that’s how it is this time. And I also wish I’d called him Will.

I’m trying hard not to think too much about the Supernatural convention in Cherry Hill because I won’t be able to function.

RT is coming! Yay! Looking forward to that.

And just on a sort of random note…I have children. I have a daughter, and I have a son. Because I have two children of different genders, I feel fortunate enough that I can love them equally but not the same AND BE GUILT FREE. But I don’t have a favorite child. I love them both more than anything in the world, and though I might complain about how they drive me crazy, I adore my kids, and here’s a crazy concept – I LIKE HANGING OUT WITH THEM. I do. I enjoy spending time with them. I like it when we go on vacation and I can hang out with them and so stuff with them and be there to experience new things with them. Yes, they drive me nuts and yes, I have a vast need for time alone. Yes, sometimes I need “a break” from my kids. But that’s why I go away by myself! Do they make me angry? Sure. Do I wish sometimes I could run away from home and live on a beach someplace with a houseboy? Hell yes. Do I lose my patience with them? All. The. Time. But could I ever be hurtful to one in order to placate another? Wow. Not on purpose, anyway. Not deliberately, and surely not repeatedly.

In other random thoughts, eviscerate is a really great word.

M

PS — I’m having a booksigning, January 31st at the Lebanon Valley Mall, 2 pm. C’mon out and say hi, and buy a book! Or bring one to be signed. I’ll be there until 4 pm.

I don’t have much to say about last night’s Supernatural beyond the shallow…Boys in suits! BOYS IN SUITS! And…hmm, wonder what Dean’s safe word *would* be? I must say that makes my mind go in a lot of pervy places.

But let’s talk about douchebaggery, a subject near and dear to my heart this morning, as far as douchebaggery goes along with fuckery.Yes, I said fuckery.

I’ll say it again: FUCKERY. I like that word. It’s like saying FUCK but it implies an action to it that’s not about sex but rather about the way things fall apart or get messed up. As in there has been a lot of fuckery going on around here!

And I’ll just be honest, sometimes I like to say FUCK because it’s the only word that really feels right coming out of my mouth — It’s a hard word, and a strong word, it’s not a word for every day or every situation, but when you say FUCK there is no way anyone can misinterpret what you’re saying. Or what you mean. You can’t weasel out of something after you’ve said FUCK, it’s out there, like a nail driven into wood. You can pull out the nail, but there will still be a hole there.

My wood has a fucking lot of holes in it today.

M

For my upcoming releases from Berkley Sensation:

“Satan’s son” just friended me on Myspace!

My Blood Valentine (in 3D) was made of awesome. Really. I mean, it wasn’t *good* — in that way that all old school slasher flicks aren’t really *good*– but it was FANFREAKINGTASTIC. Lots of scare moments, even predictable ones and the 3D was great. And Ackles? Well, what’s bad about a three story high, 3D version of that kind of pretty? Not a damn thing. I read a review that said his work is best kept to the small screen, and I disagree — even yes, knowing I’m partial to him –I liked what he did in the movie. I mean, especially compared to some of the other actors, wow. Lots of running and screaming. And full frontal nudity! Can’t have a slasher flick without a naked chick in heels running around. Loved it. Every second! Especially all the little PA things like local potato chips and stuff. But it was awfully green for February in western PA. I’m just sayin’.

Have to write like the wind today, got an entirely different direction I need to head in, so must shower, eat and get on the road with that. I’m sure I can salvage most of what I wrote already but you know, it comes down to: writing crap pages to meet a goal, or going back and working to do fewer pages but ones that won’t need to be torn apart…Though I’m close to my goal of 180 pages anyway and should make it, no problem. It’s just that moving forward isn’t always going to be page count, esp. when I realize that damn, I need to rework this.

Still on track, though.

Got two new gorgeous covers, will post when I find out if they’re for public viewing.

That’s it for Thursday! New Supernatural tonight, oh, can my heart stand the squee?

M