Milestones

Today marks the last official day of high school for my daughter. I went to pick her up for the last time. Commencement --already??-- is this weekend.

What an adventure it has been! From that first, heart-wrenching day of school when she was so tiny and nervous, but so excited, all the way to this last day. I cried that first day, thirteen years ago when I had to put her on a bus and go home alone. Today we both cried when we came home.

My daughter is beautiful, brilliant and talented. Already she is an accomplished author, artist and musician. She will do very well in this world. We raised her to manage on her own - isn't that what we're meant to do? I am sure she will. I hope she will glorify God with her talent and I think Him for her and all He's given her. Such moments - the leaving behind of childish things to move on are very dear to me, very bittersweet. I will miss the morning rides to school, the deep talks that happen in less than five minutes. The laughter, the tears, the rush, the hush after... It helps tremendously that I know she will miss them, too.

Strange as it may sound, I loved the ride to pick her up and the wait - the anticipation of seeing her emerge. Asking myself which door she'd come out. Asking how her day went. I liked to linger, not to squander the time we were given. I've never been in a rush to arrive at this day. The years of childhood are so vital, so rich, so precious. I always wanted my children to savor life, not to push through to responsibility too soon.

It is inevitable. They grow, we cannot stop it, even though when they were young, we told them all "never grow up!" We still wanted them to do that, to be wise and strong. My daughter is, like her brothers before her.

Sure, I know there will be other rides, to college on rainy days, rides toward a bright future. Still, I'll miss those moments, the routine, the familiarity these years have brought. All the changes; the joys and pains of growing up; summer vacations, papers to sign, phone calls to make, notes to send, school trips, lunches to laugh about, awards, games, concerts, projects due and grades brought home, triumphant.

A new chapter hovers on the horizon and I look forward to turning the page even as I fondly look back to the story that's gone before. I cherish the pictures and the memories. While things will never be the same, we'll remember how good they were and how much better they yet can be.

It's the last day of high school, THE last day! Heartbreaking and emotional, yes, and good, too. It's not the last day of all that is to come. That is a long, long way off yet, God willing and there is so much wonder to look forward to.

I love her very much and I want to be there when she needs me for whatever is to come. I am glad I was there today.

Just thought I'd share.

Guest Interview: Robin Lythgoe author of "As the Crow Flies"

I often blog about my friend Robin Lythgoe. I do that because I believe in her talent and I want to spread the word about her stories. Her latest adventure is a Blog Tour. June 3-9, Robin will be virtually visiting some blogs around the web to promote her book, "As the Crow Flies." It is my privilege to have tour to begin here and my honor to have Robin as my guest at directions for the journey. 

“One more job” means that Crow, a notorious thief, can retire with Tarsha, the woman of his dreams, but “one more job” may just mean his life.

When Crow sets out to steal that last brilliant treasure and seek a life of ease and pleasure with the jewel of his heart, he seriously underestimates his mark, the Baron Duzayan. For a thief, getting caught is never a good thing. Getting caught by a wizard is even worse. Under threat of death by poison, Crow is coerced into stealing an improbable, mythical prize. To satisfy the wizard's greed and save the life of his lady love, he must join forces with Tanris, the one man Crow has spent his entire career avoiding.

But what's a man to do when stealing that fabled prize could level an empire and seal his fate?

From a dungeon black as night, to the top of a mountain peak shrouded in legend, a man’s got to do what he must. Unless, of course, he can think of a better plan…

ЖЖЖ

Welcome Robin! It's terrific to have you here today. I've been a fan of your writing for some years, as you know. During that time, you have surprised me with ideas that simply blow my mind and characters I love. How do you think up your characters? Do they  just come to you, out of the blue?

Sometimes ideas DO come to me out of the blue! I can remember working out in the yard one summer, and I had this very clear image of a curiously tattooed man in buckskins come to me. He was lost, and the magic (connected to his tattoos) didn't function properly in the place he found himself. He was very formal, very noble in bearing and attitude. 

He sounds intriguing! Who is he? What's his name?

Sorry, nope, not revealing that just now! 

Not fair! So, is it all inspiration or do you draw on other sources? 

I might be reading or watching a show, and some aspect of one of the characters will catch my attention. I ask myself, “What would this kind of person do in such-and-such situation?” or even “What would *I* do if that happened to me?” And, being a fantasy writer, it's usually followed by “How can I apply this to a fantasy situation?”

There are some intense situations in your book. How do you gear yourself up to write emotionally difficult scenes? 

I put myself in the character's shoes. “If this were me, what would I be thinking/feeling/sensing?” I tend to do this whether I'm writing, reading, watching a show, or just playing a scene out in my mind. I can feel the emotion so well that I react physically. I cry, tense up, laugh, squeak (modified screaming)... My family thinks it's funny.

What's the hardest scene you had to write in "As the Crow Flies"?

I would have to say (carefully, in order to avoid spoilers!) that the scene where Tanris tells Crow how he laid the trap to catch him was the most emotionally draining. I totally empathized (see answer to previous question!) with Crow's dawning shock, felt the dizziness of disbelief, wanted to punch Tanris right in the nose!

Once you've got your characters, do you outline, use note cards or write by the seat of your pants?

All three? I would have to say that I am primarily a “discovery” writer (the seat-of-the-pants method), and  I'll start out with a loose outline in my head. I have been working on note-carding, but my success has been kind of spotty. I get caught up in the discovery part and the notes fall by the wayside. Still, they're good for getting me back on track!

Though Crow is the main character of "As the Crow Flies," I had a hard time liking him until he learned a few important life lessons. He takes other people's stuff. Not the hero sort. Why Crow? What makes him different from other thieves?

Well... he comes out of my head, and there's no one quite like me! I'd also have to say that while the story is about stealing something, the item is a little unusual, and the process serves as a catalyst for Crow to make some discoveries about himself as well as others.

My husband says Crow inherited my sense of wit and humor, so what's not to love? I also like his dogged certainty that the gods particularly love him, and that when things go wrong something will always work out. He's not a quitter. And hey, he loves books, too!

I know your family means alot to you and that you're a person of faith. Many readers are too. How does your faith impact your writing?

In an uncertain world, my faith gives me a place to stand, it gives me something to strive for, it sets standards for me to achieve. The knowledge I have gained through my faith gives me the self-confidence I need to develop and employ my talent. My faith is such a part of my life that I would be surprised if it were not reflected in my writing.

Crow has a beautiful girlfriend, gets tossed into prison, faces painful injuries and dangerous obstacles. Yet, you don't assault your readers with graphic sex, gore or the over-abundance of potentially objectionable language that's found in many a fantasy novel these days. Is that because of your faith as well? 

My faith did play an important role in my choices, as did the environment I grew up in, where the media suggested violence, sex, and gore without delving into the nitty-gritty details. I think our society has become unfortunately desensitized and that, in turn, has diminished our ability to exercise our imaginations. So many of today's readers want/need to be given explicit details rather than letting a concept or description bloom in their own minds in the framework of suggestion. “You didn't describe the demon very well,” was the recent complaint of a younger reader. I asked what descriptors had been given. “Demon,” was the first and most obvious. “Together with wings, sharp talons, size, and shrieking, what does that conjure in your mind?” I asked. “Oooh...”

We do not need to fill in every single gap. We do not need those graphic “conventions” in order to tell—or enjoy—a good story. As you pointed out, Crow experienced those things, but the focus was on him rather than on them. Although I wrote the story with adults in mind, I've had people comment that it is suitable for older YA readers and that, in addition to the “approved for general audiences” rating, it happily lacks the “obtuse and immature main character who has some sudden, life-changing epiphany within the last 20 pages.” My husband calls the lack of gratuitous graphic explicitness in my writing “wit instead of grit.” I consider those  wonderful compliments, and I am pleased that I can present this book with no excuses, no regrets.

It is certainly a book I am happy to share with everyone. With the many challenges you faced writing about Crow, many writers would face yet another: writer's block. How do you deal with it?

There's a scene in the TV show “Castle” where Rick says: 

“I don't believe in writer’s block. I believe in writer’s embarrassment. That’s when you're so embarrassed by the horrendous drivel you’re writing that you can't bear to see it on the page. After all, you can always write something. I’ve discovered that giving yourself permission to write poorly is the gateway to writing well. It may not be good, it may not make sense, but that’s okay. After enough pages of meaningless drivel, your brain will uncover something interesting, and before you know it, you're off and writing again.”

I like that. A person can always write something—Call it warm-up exercises if you want, but the motion helps to get words and ideas going. Another thing I find really helpful is engaging in some other avenue of creativity. Designing graphics or photo montages in Photoshop is one of my favorites.

Your cover design is proof that you enjoy more than one artistic outlet for ideas. Reading is another good way to get the juices flowing. Writers start out as readers. What works motivate you?

I have a few books I go back to (in no particular order):

The Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series by Tad Williams for the amazing world-building, the broad spectrum of characters, the fantastic character development, and the historical depth.

Lady of the Forest, by Jennifer Roberson, for the unique and beautifully romantic retelling of Robin Hood—a favorite character since I was young and my grandmother used to call me “Robin the Hood.” 

The Legend of Nightfall, by Mickey Zucker Reichert for the rollicking, often humorous adventure.

Exile's Gate and the Fortress series by C.J. Cherryh not only for the rich and complex tales, but for the language she uses and the images her words paint.

I love that there are so many authors to discover and so many styles, stories, and characters to explore. Books are magic.

They are indeed! What magic do you want readers to take with them when they reach the end of "As the Crow Flies?" 

“Wow, that was a fun book! I love to read!” And... that the people around us are important. You never can tell where you will find a friend and what that person will add to your life.

Thanks so much for joining me here today, Robin. I've had a great time! Last question: Next project (as if I didn't know...)?

I am working on a series—also fantasy—about a man who is abducted by a mage when he is young and magically recreated to fashion a living, breathing weapon. The story deals with his anger, denial and loss; his eventual acceptance of his “condition”; and finally the active pursuit of his destiny. It is a world-spanning, lifelong tale. Magic and dragons feature again, though in an entirely different way than they did in Crow's story. I'm also getting requests to continue Crow's story, which makes me blush with pleasure.

ЖЖЖ

After many years spent tending to a prince, three princesses and a king, Scribe Robin is now free to take to her tower to write tales about wizards and magic, fantastical places and extraordinary journeys. From time to time, when she is not writing, she invokes the magic of Photoshop to create maps, scenery, insignias, book covers, and various bits and pieces of artwork suitable for use in the mysterious ether plane. She has regularly been victorious at the NaNoWriMo tourneys, and has several books in various stages of progress in addition to a published work of fiction about a thief and his trusty sidekick. Now if only she could find that spell for manipulating time so that she could turn all of her ideas into stories...

Connect with Robin: 

Website Ж Blog Ж Facebook Ж Twitter Ж Goodreads

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IRON MAN 3: Review

I loved the movie. I loved the acting. I enjoyed myself immensely. Some people didn't. To avoid big spoilers, I can't be specific about some of the accusations fans are making about plot holes, but the movie had reasonable explanations for things some folks are saying. Seems to me they just didn't want to see those explanations. In a really good movie, stories can't be pat. No deus ex machina here despite what some think of Jarvis. Options open to Iron Man that he did not use earlier on in the story weren't used because they were destructive and not yet necessary. Later on, they were used as a last resort, a final solution that the hero - until that moment - was not ready to accept. The film made that clear to me, even if others couldn't see it. How's that for discussing things without discussing them?

If that's not helpful, then just go see the movie, it's great entertainment. Time raced by while I was in the theatre and gasps and laughs were plenty. There were even some tears.

Still, I've read a lot of complaints by die-hard Marvel comics fans who are upset with the portrayal of the Mandarin in the IRON MAN 3 movie. Surprised by the vitriol I saw, I read about the Mandarin of the comics. Here's the thing I'm thinking... Without a setup movie of his own, the Mandarin of the comics is an extremely complex character for a one movie deal. There's so much there (some of it, frankly, quite laughable). Maybe they should have chosen another villain to appease the masses of fans, but what if this is just the beginning of the introduction of the Mandarin? What if this character as portrayed IS far more than he seems to be - far more than even he is revealed to be? The comics version of the character used his own power at one point in his history to force himself to believe a lie about his origins. This makes it possible for me to believe that he might not even know who he is and thus appeared to be used when he is the user. And that's just one possible explanation. Just think about the meaning of the word "genius", Horatio. There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your myopic philosophy

The Mandarin: Art by Robert De La Torre

I asked myself, would most audiences have bought the Super Villain genius scientist who is also a superhumanly skilled martial artist (who looks strangely like the Russian villain of Iron Man 2. I mean, look at that lightning. All he needs is a cockatiel)? Hard to say. Maybe. But to expect audiences to buy a genius scientist who is also a superhumanly skilled martial artist whose primary sources of power are ten power rings that he adapted from the alien technology of a crashed spaceship ...? Naw, sorry fans. That is much too much for one film. Give the creators of the movies credit. They know what works, they know what sells. And they aren't selling just to fans. Seriously, when I read how each ring has a different power and is worn on a specific finger, I immediately was reminded of all the other movies with magic/space-tech rings (LOTR, Green Lantern and even the Jackie Chan cartoon series...though, those were talismans, not rings but each had a different power). And I started laughing. More rings? Oish. At this early stage, it just would not have flown. As much as comic fans want everything to be the way they see it in those pages they adore, the rest of us want believability that doesn't blow our ability to suspend certain beliefs out of the water. That must go hand in hand with a good story full of realistic emotion from our heroes.

Brief (maybe tiny?) SPOILER Alert!!

April: National Poetry Writing Month

I love poetry. I have for many years. One of my favorite poems is "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe. I've long wanted to memorize it (it is on my bucket list). I've even written silly versions of the Raven in homage.

This month is National Poetry Writing Month. There is a website for it. Of course there is. There are websites for everything. I'll link to that at the end of the post. On the site, it says this:

Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers, and poets throughout the United States band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events.

That is a fantastic idea. I could wish that they'd done this when I was in school. I loved to write poetry when I was a child. One of my first poems, which my mother lovingly preserved, was: "I love God! I love Him. I loooooove Him." Clearly, an amazing piece of free form verse.

Inspired by her high praise of my art, and encouraged by my own inner thrill at writing something so profound, I penned many further classics, such as the inevitable, though unoriginal, variations of "Roses are Red," and the timeless "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells."

Since that time, I have endeavored to create works completely my own -- though there is nothing new under the sun -- and somewhat advanced in style. I've shared some of those lines here with you. In honor of National Poetry Month (and my daughter's 18th birthday), I've also put together a collection of some of my poems. Available for $.99 on Amazon, and on Smashwords, it is called "Light and Dark: poems of passion."

The cover was beautifully designed by my friend and writing partner, Robin Lythgoe.

I'll provide a sampling here of the Title Work:

Light and Dark

gleam light and sparkle

sun on the water, illusion of warmth

oh, glamour and shine

 bewitcher, boggler,

 lure of the lurker –

beware innocent of shadow and brine –

flash of cold silver, chilled blood of the deep

 watches the swimmer,

the splasher,

the lark

the darkness and depth hide fin in green-weed –

devour,

rejoice 

I am an evil ignorer of form, I admit it. But that, to me, is what poetry is all about. Not structure, form or rules, but passion and heart. Though I will be the first to admit that structure has produced some of the most beautiful, fluid words ever put to parchment. I say only: this is me, I hope you enjoy.

http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41

Book Review: As the Crow Flies

As the Crow Flies, released in December of 2012, is an excellent, epic read. Lythgoe's world-building excites. Her attention to detail is spot on. This tale is full of magic and mythical creatures sure to intrigue and delight. There is just enough mystery to engage the audience and keep pages turning until the satisfying, heart-clenching end. The action is fast-paced, the characters believable to a wonderful degree.

Crow the thief is arrogant and frankly, sometimes annoying. I didn't like him at first. In fact, I had the urge to slap him several times, but never to put the book down. I was captured by the story and his supporting, well-rounded cohorts (especially Tanris, with whom my sympathies fell in immediately). Once their journey was underway, I was hooked, eager to see how men at such odds, at the opposite ends of the law - and occasionally at one another's throats - could work together to a common end. It happens to be one of my favorite themes in literature and I've seen it butchered miserably and raised up to inspiring levels. Lythgoe inspires me. Not only does she provide us with strong male leads, but in an unassuming Girl our hero meets along the way, she also helps us discover the kind of power that only loyalty and faith can bring.

As for the bad guy, he proves time and again that he is no cheap, mustache-twirling, comic book villain. He is absolutely the wrong man from whom to steal. He is cold and calculating and will go to any lengths--any!--to achieve his goals.

As the Crow Flies serves up action and adventure, wit and wizardry. The cover is stunning and cunningly simple, providing a glimpse of things to come in the tale. I would love to see a sequel, but whatever she writes about, I can't wait for Lythgoe's next book.

February? Already? Slow Down and Contemplate!

Where did January go? I feel as if I've missed it. At my age, time just slips by so fast. I never, ever thought that would happen. When I was a little girl, summer, for example, seemed to drag by endlessly. I don't recall being bored, though, surely, I was from time to time. I don't recall needing to hurry.

Maybe that's why my father always called me "PokeYourHontas." I don't believe I dragged my feet. I think I just enjoyed myself. I didn't want to hurry because life excited me. Seeing and doing excited me. It still does. I don't like to miss things.

It is harder now. I don't move the way I used to. But that doesn't mean my heart isn't still in the excitement of living. My excitement is simply slower than that of others. The thrill of the feathery, crystal structures of snow, the contemplation of clouds. Mull over some poetry, enjoy that cup of tea - savor it. Look at the faces of your family and remember how wonderful they are.

The faces of my children inspire me, make me smile, soften my all-too-hard heart.

Sometimes the journey seems so fast that I can't keep up with the needle of my compass. It spins and I'm dizzy. If I could take a magnet and freeze it in place, or freeze time, I sometimes think I'd like to. But... in the end, it is the time that passes that makes a memory. The memories make me smile too.

Since I seem to have missed the whole month, here is a poem for January:

Crystal feathers
draped so soft

how delicate you grow
aloft my mirror in the morning light.

Formed of warmth
and cold, clear night

The snap of chill,
the heated air;

not for long you linger here

And when the sun, though weak, swings 'round

of your beauty no sign is found

-KK 021113

Kenn Anderson Sr on the HMS Bounty

Tuesday is not my typical blogging day. I admit to flying by the seat of my pants and struggling for a routine. With NaNoWriMo over, that is slowly coming back into my line of sight. For now, my focus has shifted wholly to assistant editing. My writing partner Robin Lythgoe is about to release her book As the Crow Flies on December 10, 2012. Be on the lookout for that!

See the cover? Awesome isn't it? e

But there is a wonderful podcast interview I wanted to take time out to let you know about. The interview conducted by David Maderia on 94.3 FM (The Talker) is with a friend of mine, Kenn Anderson Sr. about the HMS Bounty and the First Friday Memorial Display (photographs and artifacts) in Scranton at the Care Net Crisis Pregnancy Center. I very much enjoyed listening to the podcast and think you will too.

Listen here: Ep 123 Hour 3: The Legacy of the HMS Bounty

If you are in Scranton PA this weekend, please head on over to the Memorial Display: 

I'm very much hoping to be there myself. There will be a few artifacts, Kenn says, and photographs of the famous ship and those (famous and not-so) who sailed her. An opportunity to reflect, to be thankful for the lives spared and for closure for those who knew and worked with Captain Robin and Claudene as well as those of us who wished to yet never got to see Bounty.