Tuesday, December 25, 2007

THE ZEN OF CHRISTMAS

Things bear repeating.

74 degrees and 9 pm Christmas day.
This one's for Galen - it's a dragon nudibranch. I've taken many photographs of these creatures. I never tire of them. I guess you could call them my passion among many things (horses, sailboats, diving).
So one of my Christmas books was from Touloose. THE ZEN OF WRITING by Ray Bradbury. He said so much that rings true for writers but one thing was especially meaningful to me.
Write your passion.
Take your character and make them love what you love and want what you want. In this way you can make your story authentic and tell the truth.
So I now find myself writing about a poor disoriented woman who is seaching for the perfect black and white cat.
One with opposable thumbs.
Oh yeah,
His name's gotta be Touloose...

Sunday, December 23, 2007

JINGLE BELL JINGLE BELL JINGLE BELL ROCK...

WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON

76 degrees and 9 pm.
We will be sharing Christmas dinner with the pirate / beta reader on Wandering Star. Christmas Eve day Gordon and I will have a leisurely horse back ride on Airborne and Veritas.

Although we don't have a tree on board we do have teeny tiny Christmas tree worms that live on ORION's hull.

MELE KALIKIMAKA

Thursday, December 20, 2007

THE MYSTERY OF THE VAGRANT VEGETABLE...OR...IS THAT A TOMATO IN YOUR POCKET OR ARE YOU JUST GLAD TO SEE ME

I'm going to kill two tomatoes with one literary metaphorical stone.
I was tagged by sustenence scout.
I'm supposed to list three things that I believe make for powerful writing. So I decided to tell a story. Bear with me...

TOMATO TODAY TOMATO SOUP TOMORROW

The vegetable was dead. No doubt about it. Pierced with twelve to fourteen deep gashes over it's entire circumference. Funny. No blood. I walked into the galley. Another body lay stretched out on the companionway steps. It was a gruesome sight. But again no blood. This murderer was crafty and careful.
Exhibit A found at the foot of my bed at approximately 6:03 am.


Exhibit B found on the companionway steps at 6:05am.

The medical examiner was thorough and blunt. He combed his hair from the back to cover his bald spot. His sansabelt pants were heading toward the south pole.
"These wounds were made by needle sharp teeth," he said. "Any one of which would have been fatal. This is one frenzied killer."
I couldn't believe it. A murderer on the loose. ORION is no longer safe.
I interviewed the two boat cats.
They didn't see a thing.
Didn't hear a thing.
I was stumped.
Looks like another one for Cold Case.

So what does this have to do with three things for powerful words?
Well. First of all.
1. Sometimes perfectly normal mornings can turn into grotesque nightmares. Write about them.
2. Death is compelling even when it's only a vegetable. Write about it.
3.(to paraphrase Clinton) It's the story, stupid.
It's always the story.
Oh. By the way?
The culprit was not who you expected.

The fourth thing? Expect the unexpected.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WANT TO KNOW WHAT I SOUND LIKE...

Back in August I did a radio interview in Seattle
with CBS affiliate KMPS you need to scroll all the way down to the bottom for August 25, Patricia Wood. It's on their website now. How cool is that?
On another note...
This is TOOOOO FUNNY!!!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

YOU HAVE TO LET ART FLOW OVER YOU...

THE BRITISH ARE COMING THE BRITISH ARE COMING...
The UK hardback of LOTTERY will be released January 3, 2008. All my blogger buddies in the UK have to promise to take photos of LOTTERY in bookstores like FOYLES and WATERSTONES.
Touloose approves of the UK edition.
IT FEELSSO VERY GOODYES. OH YES

Um. You were saying?
Touloose hearts books.
Hey he's only doing what I'd like to do. Pile all those copies of Lottery up under my pillow and sleep on them.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

BLOG BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION OF LOTTERY

Starting Thursday December 13.
ON MOM AND MORE
This is the rejuvenation of one of the oldest (first?) book club blogs. Here is your opportunity to chat about LOTTERY
Anything goes: you can ask about research, the publishing process, the literary techniques to make the reader feel "slow", the characterization, the lottery...
See you there.
Also inquiring minds want to know what I got from my husband for my 21st anniversary present (besides dinner in San Francisco).
I took a picture of it.
A stone box with a pen and tablet inside that can stay by my bedside. He told me it's for ideas.
The box is covered with dragonflies.
The perfect gift.
This is why we are still married.

Monday, December 10, 2007

I HEART SEALIONS

MY FAVORITE PART OF SAN FRANCISCO...besides the sour dough bread, the steamed crab, the hot chowder...



While I was in San Francisco I discovered THIS ONLINE
I met Martha O'Connor the author of Bitch Posse and had lunch. Jersy Boys was incredible. And I discovered that going to art museums can trigger masses of creativity. Try it sometime.
So does walking up long steep hills. When your vision fades and things go a bit black -it's almost like a hallucination caused by extreme exhaustion.
It can mimic brainstorms...
oh yeah...
and it's cold.
Very.
Very.
Cold.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

IT'S NOT NICE TO FOOL MOTHER NATURE

One minute ORION was bobbing softly to the normal trades and the next the wind gusted over 35 knots.
Touloose and I slept through it.
Gordon woke up and put a few more lines on.

The next morning trees and telephone poles were pick up sticks, roads were flooded, Airborne and Baby Horse's wooden tack shed blew over.
It wasn't the howling wind the next day.
Or the debris in the harbor. The raging surf.
That made me break out into a cold sweat.
It was:
NO.
INTERNET.
ACCESS.
Could not blog. Could not surf net and google myself. I actually had to write.
Bummer.
So on another note: I will be leaving tomorrow for SAN FRANCISCO (can't say that city without hearing the Village People).
Going to do some stock signing. Eat some great sourdough bread. See JERSEY BOYS.
"SHARRRREEEEE SHARRREEEEE BAAABBEEEEE!"
Oh yeah.
Touloose is in charge while we are gone.
I just don't remember ordering a Keg but he said I did...

Sunday, December 02, 2007

WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD BEST OF 2007

EVER ALERT BLOGGERS SENT ME THIS LINK.
WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD HOLIDAY ISSUE GUESS WHAT SHE FOUND IN THEIR CHOICES FOR BEST FICTION 2007?
LOTTERY.
HOW COOL IS THAT?
Perry would be so proud...

Saturday, December 01, 2007