DA DOO RUN RUN RUN DA DOO RUN RUN

This is what the imagination looks like running free...The creative process full speed ahead.

Let's journey inside to that special place where novel premises are born and pages of fantastical prose are released into the world with much bated breath and anticipation (not unlike ketchup).
Deep.
DEEP.
DEEPER.
Deep in the recesses of the author's mind whence come those little nagging voices. Those tinkling inner conversations that are SOOOO helpful to the creative process.
Let's listen to them now shall we?
Chapter one...
"It's going well isn't it?"
"What? Are you kidding? Look at that dialogue!"
"What's wrong with the dialogue?"
"You can't make your characters say Pishtaw!"
" It sounds good to me."
"Anyway you have to change that description!"
"What about the description?"
"Blue sky? BLUE SKY??!! that's such a cliche. Think of something else"
"Azure? How about azure?"
"You already used azure for the drum majorette's eyes. You can't use it twice in one chapter."
"Why not?"
"You just can't."
"Okay I'll make her eyes brown."
"Everybody's eyes are brown. Enough with the brown."
"There's just no satisfying you is there?"
"Look if I wasn't watching your every move you'd have the mother dead in chapter one and alive again in chapter three."
"It was merely an oversight. I'd have picked it up in copyediting."
"Some oversight! Was relocating the Grand Canyon to California an oversight?"
"This is just a first draft! I can't be worrying about the details."
"Not worry about details? NOT WORRY ABOUT DETAILS???!!! ARE YOU CRAZY?!!!!!!"
Yes.
Yes I am.

WHERE IDEAS REALLY COME FROM

I didn't want to keep it to myself. It's not really fair. I have often been asked where I get my ideas. Every writer is asked that. Well I'm coming clean.

Here.

I walk down the dock.
"Hey Pat! Hold on a minute."
It's Kevin. He lives on a catamaran.
"What's up, Kev?" I ask.
"I got this idea," he says. "A GREAT idea for a book! These guys they go on this boat and then like go after these other guys on another boat and then...um...oh yeah a guy gets killed and then the CIA comes after them. It's kind of like DaVinci Code meets Mutiny on the Bounty..."
"Gee thanks Kev but..."
"Hey it'd be a good story! You just have to write it."
I continue walking down the dock.
Mike leans against his boat and waves me over."Hey Pat! Got a minute? I had this dream. It was about vampires. Only these were like fishermen. Got it? Fishermen vampires. That'd make a great story wouldn't it?"
"Gee Mike why don't you write it?"
"Aw I can't write! How about you write it and we'll split the money?"
I buy a cup of coffee at the marina store.
"You the writer?"
"Yeah" I say.
"You wrote a book?"
"Yeah" I say.
"You gonna write another?"
"That's the plan." I say.
"How about martians? You gonna write about martians landing here and then like taking all our boats. You could write that couldn't you? I mean nobody's done that yet have they?"
"No I'm sure they haven't."
"OK then you write that and then let me know 'cuz I wanna read it first."

I get into my car just to get away and drive to the North shore. Wonderful silence. The tradwinds blowing in the ironwoods. I grab my saddle and bridle and walk to the gate.

"PSSSSSSSTTTT!!!" I hear.

"I GOT THIS IDEA!THERE'S THESE HORSES SEE...AND THEY'RE IN A BOAT SEE..."

WHERE SMILEY FACES COME FROM

You can see the eyes just moving into place...
Shhh. Don't move.
You'll scare it.

soon the smile will form and the fully evolved face will crawl out of the primordial soup of visages and emoticons.


What was I doing on October 18th?
Judge do I have to answer that question?
I do? Well uh er at 8 pm Mountain Standard time I was on the phone.
Yes I have witnesses.
My alibi is ironclad.
It was a book club.
In San Antonio, Texas.
Really.


AND HERE THEY ARE!
They'll back me up.

I can't tell you HOW MUCH FUN it is to talk to book clubs. Trust me. It is. This group from Texas asked some amazing questions and laughed at ALL my jokes.
That made me happy.
Another thing that made me happy?
This POST from booknook!

I MISS MISS SNARK

ALSO TITLED:

THE CONTINUING SAGA OF THE I'M A NITWIT AND PROUD OF IT FAN CLUB


I miss Miss Snark.
I miss Buffy Squirrel and following her back to her hole. I miss Bill E. Goat and M G Tarquini when the wit flew thick and heavy.
I miss Anon. I miss Clueless Anon. I miss Snarky Anon. I miss Nitwit Anon.
And I miss Anon Number 512.
I miss getting up in the morning going online and immediately having to clean the coffee off my keyboard before I can start my work for the day.
I miss the camaraderie.
I miss the glamour.
The quality of charisma.
I miss all that.
And more.
I miss Miss Snark
I miss being a part of a club.
I miss being a part of the group.
I miss nuking the scammers.
I miss saving another snarkling from the clutches of nefarious BB (and we know who you are)
I miss fiction novels.
I miss cluegun.
I miss guaranteed best seller.
I miss urban-romance-thriller-mystery-fantasy only with vampires and butt weasels ala Stephen King.
I miss the crapometer.
I miss gin.
I miss yanno.
I miss wtf.
I miss dear dog.
I miss clueless.
I miss have a clue.
I miss get a clue.
I miss Miss Snark.
And her little dog too.
I miss it.
I
miss
it
all.

PARABLES AND PARTY ANIMALS

I will blog today about THE ANT...hardworking...studious...focused...



and THE GRASSHOPPER...flippant...live for the day...devil may care...

Monday morning (for me) 75 degrees. My muse at my hip.
I went to the stable this weekend and worked with Baby Horse -- he's really coming along. Light. Balanced. Responsive. He's a pleaser. He's learning his job as a horse. Has figured out what I want. He listens to me. Thinks. Analyzes.
Then I go home.
To Beelzebub.
Hell Cat.
Grasshopper.
What? YOU back? I don't know WHO pulled all your clothes out of your cupboard. I was busy doing kitty litter therapy art in the forward stateroom.
I have no idea where your keys are and besides you shouldn't leave them on the table where it's so tempting to paw them off so they slide under the sea chest.
AHHH so many hours in the day and so many naps to take. I am inspired...
So what are you? The ant-like Baby Horse who works hard at what you do taking this writing stuff seriously.
Or are you a grasshopper like Touloose? At turns slovenly but with moments of inspired creativity and unparalleled genius (according to him).
I am both.
I think it takes both.
During the revision process that I am an ant. Thoroughly focused. Knowing where I need to go with a manuscript.
But during the first draft stage? I am Touloose. I am the brilliant but foolish grasshopper flitting and darting from one plot point to the other.
Never keeping to the point but getting there all the same.
But what is my true nature?
What am I deep inside.
And what are you?
Because it only took a second.
For me to realize.
That I am.
A Dragonfly.

THREE'S A CROWD...NOT!

How many manuscripts does it take to pillage and plunder from to get a decent second draft?
Hint.
How many do you have?*

75 degrees by my air conditioner outlet. 78 degrees by the nav station. 86 degrees outside ORION.
4:30 pm.

*Four. One to put under your coffee so it doesn't make marks on the table, one to prop open the forward cabin so it doesn't shut on a cat, one to sit on so you are ergonomically correct and one to lean against so you have proper alignment of the lumbar region.

A little sleepy.
Just a tad. Stayed up late chatting.
Had a marvelous interview by THE BOOK SELLER. The UK publishing magazine. Veddy.Veddy exciting for me.
She was an UBER INTERVIEWER (I hope you're reading this Anna.)
First of all the UK is 10 hours later.
And second.
She was one of the very few interviewers who had actually READ my book completely before interviewing me. We had such fun and talked about loving books that give you a good cry. So cathartic.
How cool is that?
I have to admit no matter where someone is from -- after a few minutes I start to talk like them. I started saying "Brilliant!" and "righty ho!" and "All right then."
I do it to people from the south too,
"Weeeellll honeeee chile..." and "Ya'll"
I just can't help it. I also couldn't prevent myself from saying "Aloha" in New York. If you want some really GREAT looks do that to a cabby.
I'm so grateful no one has hung up on me or hit me yet.
Yet.

I am currently collecting all the things people have said to me at signings starting with this from Washington.


"Did you write this book?"

"Yes."

"All of it?"

STUPID AUTHOR TRICKS, UNINTERRUPTED WRITING TIME AND OTHER FANTASIES...

OKAY SO SHOOT ME...

At least it's a PRIUS and not a PORSCHE.

10:37 and 75 degrees inside ORION and 85 degrees outside ORION.
Air conditioning status: cool...very cool.

Let's get this over with right off the bat. It's a complete and utter fallacy that writing becomes easier once an author becomes published. No.
An author's life is one interruption after another

pitter patter gallumph CRASH!!!!!
WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING IN THERE???!!!!!

nothing...



type type type type
finally getting somewhere...

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

(hit save hit save remember to hit save)
*climbs companionway and looks out

"Down here!!!"

"I'm selling chocolate covered plankton for the school...do you want to buy some? It's so our band can go to Sea World..."

*be polite. Say yes. It's a deduction.

type type type type type

ding ding ding
email
EGO: oh an email. I'll read it later when I have time.

ID: WHAT??!!!ARE YOU KIDDING!!! IT"S PROBABLY FROM OPRAH!!!YOU BETTER READ IT!

EGO: Now just calm down ID you're never going to get anything done if you answer each and every email as soon they come in.

ID: ARE YOU F***ING NUTS!!!THIS COULD BE IMPORTANT!!!IT COULD BE THE PULITZER PRIZE COMMITTEE NEEDING YOUR ADDRESS TO SEND YOU THE CHECK!!!!

EGO: Oh ego be reasonable...

ID: I AM BEING REASONABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*much time is wasted listening to id and ego argue
**looks at watch
Oh no.
Must make cat hat out of grapefruit rind.

ORION HAS LEFT THE BUILDING
LEFT THE BUILDING
LEFT THE BUILDING

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSAY OF ORION'S BLOG

9:45 PM and 77 degrees.So here is ORION at anchor off Kahe point. Emblematic of what is happening now. A bit of a lull. A rest. And then looking off at the horizon to what will be happening in the future.

A year ago.
Newly agented. Polishing LOTTERY. Anxious for submission.
Wondering what will happen.
What tomorrow will bring.
So why did I start blogging? Well I was addicted to Miss Snark and I wanted more interaction with other writers. I kept a low profile and didn't "come out" until LOTTERY was sold. I then focused on giving other writers a glimpse into what the publication journey was like for me -- but yanno -- I then became involved in a cyber community that -- although it can suck mass quantities of writing time -- has been SO rewarding. Each blogger I meet on the mainland has been like reconnecting with an old friend.
And then I get to create new friendships...

I never could have predicted how this year would have turned out. Never in a million years. It is only when I read the reviews on Amazon. Read what people have to say On Barnes and Noble. Only when I read the emails from readers telling me they enjoyed my novel LOTTERY.
My novel.
My published novel.
Heady stuff.
That's why it's even more fitting what I did today.
AND HERE THEY ARE...

I spent Sunday afternoon WITH THE RAVISHING READERS OF EAST COUNTY
And it was totally good fun. We talked about what inspired the story. What was behind the story and talked about my choices as an author.
Would I have done anything differently?
No not really.
I explained my reasoning behind plotting and characterization and was analytical about what my intention was with my story.
My only complaint? AGAIN? I was not able to partake of what I was told was GREAT FOOD.
I'm going to have to work on this virtual snack thing...
As Perry would say?
That is SO unfair...

TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION

For the those reviewers and readers who were incredulous after reading LOTTERY that there were people in this world who would take advantage of anyone with a mental challenge I produce this EVIDENCE
from the Seattle Times.
The thing is. This is only an example of individuals who were caught.
Makes a person think doesn't it?

BAD BAD KITTY

And you know which one it was...

6:25 am and 77 degrees. No AC but that's a whole other story. Late September evenings here in Hawaii can be still and stifling during Kona weather. We keep our companionway hatch open until late at night.
I was writing. Gordon had gone to bed. I couldn't keep my eyes open so I turned in myself. Lapping water...rocking boat...far off low horn of a cruiser...
A knock on ORION'S hull.
It was Chris our neighbor.
"uh are you missing a cat?"
"I never miss either of my cats."
"No uh I mean are you MISSING a cat - is one of your cat's gone? Like the black and white one?"
"Let me check."
(20 seconds later)
"Yeah. Touloose is gone." This is said in a slight combination of relief (could it be possible the cat from HELL is not with us? - to: what are you thinking! You LOVE that cat.)
THE REST OF THE STORY.
It evidently occurred to Touloose that an evening stroll would be beneficial to his health but he only got as far as the next boat. Chris and his girlfriend were in their saloon watching TV when Touloose's large black and white form meandered slowly by...
"Just passing through..." he meowed, and then made himself comfortable in their forward cabin.
As soon as Touloose heard my voice he realized he was in trouble.
He kept coming up with excuses.
"Aliens took me..."
"Chris invited me in...honest"
"HOW DID I GET HERE? I must have walked in my sleep!!!!"
Back in the boat.
BACK in the boat!
BACK IN THE BOAT!!! NOW!!!NOW!!!NOW!!!
So ends another excellent adventure by Touloose.

but it got me thinking about what it meant.

1. I was so engrossed in my writing that I was oblivious (always a good thing).

2. It's important to take advantage of every opportunity even if you might get into trouble.

Touloose takes risks.
He lives large.
And so should we.

WE THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD NEVER COME

John Elder Robison's official release date is September 25 but I saw it at Borders yesterday available for sale. YIPPEE! It's an excellent book and is already selling well! I have an autographed ARC that John gave me when we met up in New York in June.

I think I know how john feels. You wait for over a year and it seems like it will never come and then PRESTO!
Everything happens at once.


So what's it like almost two months after LOTTERY's release?



Well you get used to seeing your book in bookstores and something happens that you didn't expect. emails from readers telling you how much they enjoyed your book. I answer each one and will until it gets too much. I value each and every reader.
And then the surprises. Finding out LOTTERY is on the August bestseller list for Elliott Bay Book Store. Seeing LOTTERY on the Bestseller list again for
HAWAII.
So I've taken you on the road to do signings, talks and readings. You've read some reviews and features.I've talked about the book club discussions.
And now?
It's all up to the book sellers and readers.
And out of my hands.
So what am I doing?
Writing.
That's what.
And staying home.

Hanging out on the aft deck of ORION.
Petting my muse.
And working on novel number two.

WHAT DO BOOKSTORES AND DIVING HAVE IN COMMON?

Be thinking about this question as you read...

Alderwood Barnes and Noble is just SO clever! Look at this totally cool display!

All those crinkly pieces of paper are old lottery tickets.
They have this hand written sign taped on the window...


Last Stop: UNVERSITY BOOK STORE
The building.

My last reading was at UNIVERSITY BOOK STORE in Mill creek.
The people:

They are all UBER booksellers there.I gave them a box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts so they were very happy I came.
I met more bloggers and AW'ers and talked about LOTTERY and writing and cabbages and kings...

And then.

My room in Mukilteo helped me not miss ORION. I did still miss the muses and Gordon.
I had fun looking out the window.


And I got to thinking.
And watching.
And listening.
Which can be useful as a writer.
Those guys in wetsuits are attached to long lines that supply air - They're learning to be technical divers. Lots of cool machinery and dials. Lots of standing around drinking coffee. Those divers are sent out to practice being underwater. You see you don't know if you can handle it until you do it...
Bingo.
The key to being a writer is to...
Write.
You need lots of hours underwater to be a diver.
And you need lots of butt in chair to be a writer.
And sometimes?
You find really cool stuff.
Any questions?

THE BEST LITTLE OLD BOOKSTORE IN POULSBO

LIBERTY BAY BOOKSTORE

On Saturday I flew in at 6am, got coffeed up and by 2 pm I was in a comfy chair and had a cozy chat with eager readers.
Afterward my cousin Mimi and friends had dinner with me and my full service UBER friend Cathy who picked me up and got me whereever I needed to go.

After much wine and whining...(I wanna drink more...) Cathy and I headed off to her house where I got to sleep in a REAL bed that did not move and TAKE A BATH!!!!
Here is her UBER DOG Conan The Barbarian.

And then after a much needed sleep we took off for EVERETT LIBRARY and this is what we saw.

I mentally erased the unnecessary "s".
I posed for a photo with UBER friend Cathy who has known me since I was 2 years old.

And she STILL likes me...
I spoke to a room full of EVERETTITES...

I only had to send two outside to think about their behavior and chastise one for talking out of turn...
I took pictures of the honor students...

The UBER booksellers from Barnes and Noble!
And then...

Eileen the UBER LIBRARIAN
As Perry would say "SHE WAS SOOOO COOL!"

And the UBER of the UBER Bloggers toddie and antiwife!
Much mahalo for coming guys...
BEEP!!!
WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG FOR AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE SILVER CLOUD HOTEL IN MUKILTEO, WASHINGTON.

Keep your hands where I can see them and move away from the tub...

TROLLS...THE OTHER WHITE MEAT

There’s a somebody I’m longin’ to see
I hope that he, turns out to be...
A troll to watch over me...

75 degrees and 8:15 pm inside and warmer outside. Much warmer.
I like my trolls from Norway very much. I put them places.
Unusual places.
Like on top of the refrigerator.
In the kitty bed.
Sitting on the wheel in the cockpit.
It's time to get silly. Getting silly keeps you young. To get really silly I read beyond excellent children's books.
They make me happy.
When I find a great one I get REALLY HAPPY.

So a while back I got an ARC of ALEX AND THE IRONIC GENTLEMAN
I didn't want to make anybody crazy (except my troll) so I kept quiet.
Until now.
This book is way cool. I had such a great time reading it. Alex is such a plucky heroine and her adventures are so clever I knew I was going to make myself crazy cuz I was already wanting to read the next book.
There's a quality in children's literature I find irresistable -- not only a compelling story but snappy witty (is that a word) writing.
This book has it in spades. It's missing now. My friend took it-- she saw it on my table and took it to read.
Then someone took it from her.
And so on.
And so on.
And so on.
Harry and Narnia move over.
There's a new kid in town.

GALLEY REMODELS, BABYHORSE BOOBOOS AND PRESENTATIONS

The leaf scorpionfish can be a variety of colors. This one sticks out brilliantly against the white sand. He thinks he's hiding. Not unlike some unwieldy prose...

77 degrees and 10:33 pm
Why so cool? Air conditioning that's why!

The joys of living aboard. Our old refridgerator/freezer drained onto our floor and rotted out the teak...someday I will be able to cook in my galley again. I'll give you a hint. I don't care if it's EVER fixed. As long as I can make coffee I am happy. As long as I can drink coffee I am even happier.

So my next good fun is a talk and signing at the University of Hawaii.If you are here please come...free food...comfortable chairs to sleep in. I promise not to wake you up.
At the end of this week I fly off to the West Coast.
Check the side bar or my website for the schedule. Poulsbo, Everett and Mill Creek.
All bloggers invited!
Hope to see you there.

Last but not least:

And then if that's not enough I have to tell you about BabyHorse's Excellent Adventure. He scared himself after falling asleep and waking up saddled. He flew backwards, broke his leadrope and landed on the fence with his butt and flipped over the other side breaking the wire.
Lead Rope and Halter? $36
Vet Bill? $ 75
Years off my life? Priceless

AIN'T NO SUNSHINE WHEN SHE'S GONE

"It's not warm when she's away..."
THIS POST IS FROM TOULOOSE

AND GIRL KITTY

She's back and we know how to make her stay. We are tag teaming her back pack. If she cannot use it to bring stuff when she travels then she cannot travel.
Oh oh.
Here she comes...
Aloha Bloggers and Blogger readers. How come there's fur all over my keyboard?
80 degrees outside and 8:30 pm.
75 degrees inside ORION.
Why?
Because ORION now has air conditioning and now I have no excuse not to write in the middle of a hot afternoon.
Today I had great fun via SKYPE with a readers group in Orlando, Florida.
Julie, Carla, Tammy, Mitzi, Meagan, JoAnn, Loraine, Liz , Kim, Barbara, Pam and me chatted and gabbed for over an hour. I could tell they were eating good things that they were not sharing with me.
Good questions were asked by all. It is interesting as an author to hear what readers have to say. I find it fascinating. Some of the discussions we had centered around the inspiration for my characters and what incidents in my life helped create LOTTERY. We also talked about Perry and his ability to remember words and definitions. In teaching we learn that many students "parrot" their mentors and make meaning out of new material by attaching it to prior knowledge. This is what Perry does (albeit with humor).
We talked about possible sequels (still in the mulling-over stage). And my next projects (something I'm superstitious of going into detail about).
I won't mention any other questions for fear of spoilers but it did make me realize how often I have wanted to talk to an author after I read a book I particularly like.
So if anyone knows John Irving?
I'd really like to chat to him about Owen Meany...

FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE MAUI RETREAT AND CONFERENCE

It was a thrill to see my book for sale at the Maui Writers Conference book store.

My first year at Maui in 2005 I had one (semi) finished manuscript and worked with Jackie Mitchard. The second year (2006) I again worked with Jackie but this time had three finished manuscripts and an Agent (Dorian Karchmar of William Morris Agency).
This, my third year, I have four manuscripts, a published novel LOTTERY and I worked with Karen Joy Fowler during the retreat. During the conference I was a presenter along with Maui alumnus, friend and fellow novelist Holly Kennedy.
The retreat is a writing experience and a way of really examining what it takes to bring your manuscript to the next level. It is intensive and sometimes painful but always rejuvenating. You get a closeness with your classmates the way no MFA program can foster.
The Conference is composed of workshops and programs so that an author can pick and choose- publishing information? Agent panels for Q & A? Talks about inspiration and premises? Down and dirty revisioning? It's all there.
They are best done together. Once you have an agent the retreat is enormously helpful to network and meet other authors and writers. There is NOTHING LIKE IT!
The author Thomas Cook signed his book RED LEAVES for me.

We listened to an amazing talk by Luanne Rice.

Holly Kennedy, Diane Lake, Me and Luanne Rice just before she took the stage and had us in the palm of her hands...Check out her BLOG
It is hard to describe how thrilling it was to cut in line in front of Scott Turow to get coffee in the presenters' lounge. I am an animal for coffee debut novelist or no.

I met Ann Hood author of THE KNITTING CIRCLE. She was so kind and a wonderful teacher.
And last but for sure not least our fearless leader Karen Joy Fowler to the right with our favorite Manky from Australia Sue!

So why do you go to the Maui Retreat and Conference?
Well, there is no real time to chat and visit. Although I say we swam and napped that was SO not true. We worked on our writing and talked as writers.
It was a miracle.
It was a dream.
And it will happen again next year.
I hope you will be there.