Yesterday, I wrote fresh words on my work in progress. And though the writing’s been slower with this book than I’d hoped, (in that I set a pretty high goal for myself that isn’t necessary, was just personal) I finished my word count earlier than expected. So, I revised. Not the book I’m still writing, though it might get to that point, when I realize I’m writing out of order and need to go back to see what bits and pieces need filling in. Nope, I revised a different book.

Again.

And I finished revising it last night, only to wake this morning full of self doubt, thinking about all the places I hadn’t revised.

So, here’s the thing.

Sometimes, the book is finished. Sometimes you can revise it forever, and it’s never going to be finished. So you have to decide, at some point, to let it go.

I’m back to writing fresh words today, but I’m already thinking about how I might revise them, and I’m looking forward to it!

M

Are you a writer with questions about writing?
Ask!

Are you a reader with questions about writing?
Ask!

Are you Keanu Reeves, wanting to take me on a motorcycle ride?

…you don’t even NEED to ask.

So! G’wan. Ask away!

M

He introduced himself as Chris Mann, and said he’d sung the song for the book video related to the book he was helping the author sell.

Wow! How cool!

So I started asking him what else he’d done, etc. Turns out that Mr. Mann is quite the accomplished singer. When I got home, I found him on iTunes and purchased a whole bunch of his music and have been enjoying it ever since. And this is a guy who’s good to his fans — he does periodic concerts from his house…HIS HOUSE, people! Online chats, etc. So, he’s cute, very talented and super nice.

And now, he’s on The Voice.

I’ve never watched the show; I don’t care for reality television normally and watching the premiere episode to hear Chris’s audition reminded me why. I’m too tender-hearted. I can’t stand to watch people fail. But I watched it to see and hear Chris sing…he’s now on Team Christina! Hooray!

So, whether you watch The Voice or not, check out Chris’s music.

And watch him on The Voice! I’ll be rooting for him, that’s for sure!

You can watch his blind audition here.

And buy his work on iTunes!

What’s in the booooox?

Well. Honestly, I’m not sure. I’m just cramming books in there however they’ll fit. I’ve seen some Debbie Macomber, some Merline Lovelace, a bunch of Harlequin Historicals and Silhouette Intimate moments.

What you get is a SURPRISE!

These books are in mostly decent condition, but they are of grab-bag quality. So. You want a surprise package of vintage romances? Comment here with your favorite thrift-store or bargain find! I’ll pick on winner by Sunday, 9 pm EST. You must live in the United States for this one (sorry, it’s because of postage).

c’mon! You know you want to see what’s in the boooxxxxx!!!

M

Are you a writer with questions about writing?
Ask!

Are you a reader with questions about writing?
Ask!

Are you Keanu Reeves, wanting to take me on a motorcycle ride?

…you don’t even NEED to ask.

So! G’wan. Ask away!

M

He had a new album out a few weeks ago, and I had the privilege of getting a sneak listen to one of the songs — Best Shot. Hooray!

Here’s a video of him singing another song off the new album:

Awww. Boys with guitars. I can’t get enough!

Here he sings Best Shot, which is also on the new album, though in a different version. I love the version in this video, but the one on the album is EVEN BETTER. (you stupid, sexy, son-of-a-gun!)

and this, just for fun.

You can learn more about him from his website and his Twitter.

musicians: I’m always looking for new music. If you’d like to be featured on Tunes Tuesday, drop me a line at readinbed @ gmail.com and point me toward your songs! No promises, but if I like what I hear, I’ll feature you. And, I listen to all kinds of music except Christian Inspirational!

It’s meant to be quiet.

Creepy. With a twist.

Anyway, it sparked a conversation about horror novels, especially from the 80s. I’d come home from the library with stacks of books, and back in those days, it seemed like horror was everywhere. Not just Stephen King, but Dean Koontz. John Saul. John Farris. Robin Cook. I started reading Clive Barker in the mid 80s, didn’t discover Robert McCammon until a bit later, but loved his books too.

One of my favorite horror novels of all time is The Other, by Thomas Tryon. It’s not even really…a horror novel, except that it is. Another is The Fury by John Farris. I read that book oh…twenty times. It was always on the shelf at my grandma’s house, and I was really too young to be reading it, but I did. I loved that book so much, even though I didn’t understand most of it until much later, that I had to buy my own copy as an adult. In fact, I feel like I’d want to read it again! (Now if only I can find my copy. I think I lent it to someone, along with American Psycho, dammit! I want to read that again, too.)

My more recent horror reads have been Justin Cronin’s The Passage — totally delighted me, as it wasn’t at all what I expected. I’m on the third book of Guillermo del Toro’s Strain series, which I also liked. And I also read Ronald Malfi’s The Floating Staircase which was deliciously creepy and also…quiet. That was a quiet, scary book that I still think about, now and again.

I guess the point of my musing is that horror fell out of fashion, though it never went away. In the 80s it seemed like you could go into the bookstore or library and find dozens of horror novels with lurid covers. Lots of demon possessions, cult stuff, etc. Not so much with the vampires and werewolves, unless they were the villains, not the heroes.

I don’t think horror went away. It’s just packaged differently now. You find it in the literature section, tucked in between like, Philippa Gregory and Jodi Picoult. You have to sort of know what you’re looking for, it’s not as easy to just stumble across it.

And zombies, of course. Zombies are becoming more and more popular, which is good for me because I LOVE zombie fiction. But also sort of bad, because that means that it’s trendy and then there’s a bunch of crap floating around.

Anyway, that’s my musing for today, about horror, since I just finished my quiet, hopefully creepy, horror novel. That I would very much like to have other people read someday soon…

What are your favorite horror novels?

M

ODD!

When writing All Fall Down I had a lot of opportunity to delve into the odd. One of the important things I wanted to cover while writing the story though, was showing that what might seem odd to one person was normal to another, and how easily it might actually be to discover your viewpoint can change when faced with something you’re not used to. I wanted the characters in the book to gain new perspectives.

And maybe readers, too!

ALL FALL DOWN

Sunny didn’t smile. If she’d given Liesel any other look instead of the steady, solemn gaze she was now giving her, Liesel would have jumped to the assumption the girl was playing sort of joke on her. Not a funny one, more like a trick. Instead,Sunny picked up one of the cans she’d unpacked from the grocery bags and set aside on the counter. She turned it to squint at the label, bringing it very close to her eyes, then holding it farther. She turned it toward Liesel.

“Corn syrup. It’s in a lot of things, most everything, and it’s a toxin.” Sunny said this with the absolute authority of someone who knows without a doubt that she’s right. “It makes people sick. It can cause all sorts of problems. It makes you fat, rots your teeth, it can give you cancer.”

Liesel had in fact heard something about corn syrup being bad for you, but a toxin? She sighed. “Oh, Sunny.”

“It’s all right,” Sunny said. “I took care of it for you.”

She walked to the drawer that pulled out to reveal the garbage can, full of a disgusting, gloppy mess of what looked like everything from tomato paste to canned soup. Sunny turned with a proud smile. “And I recycled all the cans, too. I noticed you didn’t have a recycling bin, but I found one in the garage. It had some things in it, but I put them aside. I’d have put them away but I didn’t know where you wanted them.”

She moved toward the French doors to lift up a familiar red and green bin Liesel had used to store the Christmas decorations Christopher’s grandmother had given them.

“Where did you put the stuff that was in the bin?” Liesel hadn’t seen anything that looked out of place in the garage, but then she hadn’t been looking.

“On the bench with all the tools.”

Liesel went first to the garage to find the dozens of hand-spun glass ornaments, many of them antiques, settled among Christopher’s hammers, wrenches and screwdrivers. They all seemed to be still wrapped securely in their nests of cotton batting and bubble wrap, but still — the workbench was not the place for expensive heirlooms. Jaw set, she went back to the kitchen to find Sunny opening up one of the cans Liesel had just brought home, ready to dump the contents.

“No!”

Sunny looked surprised and stopped. Then, like a garage door sliding down, her expression shuttered. “What?”

“No, Sunny. Don’t you dump that stuff.” Liesel took the can from Sunny’s fingers, but it was already punctured. Now they’d have to eat it tonight or it would go bad. It was baked beans, not Liesel’s favorite but they’d eat it anyway. “That’s like tossing money away. You might as well just flush my paycheck down the toilet.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Food costs money.” Surely the girl understood that. She couldn’t be that sheltered…or simple. Could she?

“I know. But it’s bad food, Liesel. Corn syrup causes all kinds of disease. It harms your vessel. If you can’t grow your own food, fresh, it’s best to keep it as simple as possible.”

“It wasn’t yours to dump,” Liesel said, sounding too harsh.

Sunny’s expression didn’t change except, if it were possible, to get blanker. She backed up a step. Paced a few more, swiveled on her heel. Then back again. Her fists clenched together, fingers linked. She paused, head hanging, the intricate design of her braid somehow making her ears and chin and neck seem all the more exposed.

Liesel fought her own expression, which wanted to twist and turn into ugliness. “Look. Sunny. I know all of this is crazy and new to you…”

“It is,” Sunny said in a low voice, without looking at her. “We’ve already talked about this. You’re going to tell me you understand, that you know it will take time. That me and my kids are welcome here, in my father’s house.”

It was exactly what Liesel had been about to say, the same words she’d already said several times over the past few days. “All of that is true.”

Sunny faced her. “But you don’t understand, Liesel. You can’t ever understand, I don’t think.”

“Because I’m blemished?” Liesel asked wearily.

“Because you’ve lived your whole life in a house like this!” Sunny cried, her blank mask slipping for a moment to reveal the agonized girl beneath.

From upstairs came a thin wail. Bliss. Sunny let her eyes roll upward, but she didn’t move. She looked back at Liesel.

“Why don’t you have any children?”

“I…we…” Liesel frowned. “That’s not really any of your business.”

From upstairs came a series of thumps. Another short cry. Liesel would’ve been up the stairs by now, but Sunny just cocked her head as though assessing not just the volume of the cry, but its nature. She shook her head a little and pushed away a tendril of hair that had fallen over her face.

“You don’t have to let us stay here.”

Liesel sighed. “Of course I do, Sunny. Where else would you go? A homeless shelter? Or maybe you’d like to give up your kids –”

“No!”

“Well,” Liesel said again with that same harsh tone she was disturbed to realize tasted too familiar, “that’s what would happen if you don’t stay here. You’ll be out on the street. And the state will take your kids from you.”

It sounded too much like a threat, and she hadn’t meant it to be. It was the simple truth. Hard, unpleasant. But true.

“I’m not a child.”

“I know you’re not,” Liesel said, again too harshly but unable to keep herself without emotion. “But let’s face it, you’re as much to take care of as one.”

“I am as a child in my father’s house.” Sunny coughed against the back of her hand, not looking at Liesel. It sounded like a quote Liesel should know the source of, but didn’t. “But that’s not what you mean, is it?”

“No. And I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said it.”

“You meant it, didn’t you?” Sunny shrugged, still without looking at her.

Liesel sighed and put both her hands on the counter top, leaning forward for support, her shoulders tense and back aching. “But I shouldn’t have said it. It wasn’t nice.”

“If it’s true, does it have to be nice? If you have something true to say, but you don’t say it because you just want to be nice, isn’t that sort of like a lie?” Sunny looked at her again, her words a question but her face showing no signs of curiosity.

“Is that what your…is that what Papa taught you?”

“Not to speak with a liar’s tongue. Yes. We’re taught not to.”

“So…you always tell the truth?”

Sunny hesitated. “We’re supposed to. If we don’t, someone will tell it for us. You can’t go through the gates with the weight of lies and misdeeds holding you back.”

Liesel looked around her ruined kitchen, the hundreds if not thousands of dollars of wasted food. She thought of three small faces and the clasp of tiny fingers in hers. “Nobody expects all of this to just magically be all right for any of us.”

“I know that.”

“But it will get better,” Liesel said.

Sunny looked at her. “Are you saying that because you think it’s true? Or because you think it’s nice?”
“Sunny,” Liesel said with a smile the girl slowly returned, “sometimes, it can be the same thing.”

Have you ever changed your perspective about something you once found odd?

M

Eliza Gayle
Rhian Cahill
Anne Rainey
Jody Wallace
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Alison Kent
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Leah Braemel
Shelli Stevens
Shiloh Walker
TJ Michaels
Zoë Archer

What’s in the booooox?

Well. Honestly, I’m not sure. I’m just cramming books in there however they’ll fit. I’ve seen some Debbie Macomber, some Merline Lovelace, a bunch of Harlequin Historicals and Silhouette Intimate moments.

What you get is a SURPRISE!

These books are in mostly decent condition, but they are of grab-bag quality. So. You want a surprise package of vintage romances? Comment here with your favorite thrift-store or bargain find! I’ll pick on winner by Sunday, 9 pm EST. You must live in the United States for this one (sorry, it’s because of postage).

c’mon! You know you want to see what’s in the boooxxxxx!!!

M