My Summer Reading List 2013--A Wrap-up

Karen asked if I could fill in for her this week, and so I'm answering the question Sabrina asked in Thursday's post:

What have your great summer reads been?

In my reading posts, I typically throw a zillion titles at you, lumping the books I've loved and hated and the books I haven't read yet all into one big pile for you to sort through on your own. Since I have an extra week to post, I'm not doing that this time. I'm only telling you about the books I've already read and enjoyed. I'm a little embarrassed by the easy-readingness of these books. Deal with it Mom*.

 

1.  Wednesdays in the Tower (Sequel to Tuesdays at the Castle) by Jessica Day George

From amazon: A castle that is constantly rearranging itself, and a young royal family sworn to protect it... Celie, Rolf, and their beloved Castle Glower are back in this exciting sequel. 
When her brother Rolf dares her to catch magical Castle Glower creating a new room, Princess Celie takes the challenge! No one knows the Castle better than she does. But as usual, the Castle has ideas of its own.Celie finds the new room first, and inside it is hidden a giant egg. It looks like The Castle wants Celie to care for the egg and whatever creature it hatches! Celie hadn't bargained for a pet, and caring for this one will prove to be especially tricky, once Celie and her siblings realize what else the Castle is hiding....

I read this one out loud with my son out on the hammock on a sunny day with a cool breeze, so I doubt it's possible for you to enjoy it quite as much as I did, but you'll love it, especially if you share it with that 8-12 year old in your life.

 

2. Earth Afire: The First Formic War (Book 2) by Orson Scott Card

Science Fiction This is the prequel series to Ender's Game--all about the Formics coming to Earth

From amazon: One hundred years before Ender's Game, the aliens arrived on Earth with fire and death. This is the story of the First Formic War.

Victor Delgado beat the alien ship to Earth, but just barely. Not soon enough to convince skeptical governments that there was a threat. They didn’t believe that until space stations and ships and colonies went up in sudden flame.

And when that happened, only Mazer Rackham and the Mobile Operations Police could move fast enough to meet the threat.

I listened to this one on audio. I enjoyed the first book, but I was frustrated by the sparse mentions of  Mazer Rackham. This second novel fixes all of that. It's not Ender's Game, by any means, but it's still a great read.

3. Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare

Steampunk YA. I've heard the audio is to die for

A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.
Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever. 

As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army? 

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

I listened to this on audio as well, and the reader was great. Not "to die for" but apparently that was the reader of book 2, not the reader of this one. Oh well. Still good. I've always enjoyed this series, but haven't adored it like I adored the first 3 City of Bones books. However, the ending of this book was satisfying, and I'm very glad I finished it.

4. Edenbrooke by: Julianne Donaldson

Marianne Daventry will do anything to escape the boredom of Bath and the amorous attentions of an unwanted suitor. So when an invitation arrives from her twin sister, Cecily, to join her at a sprawling country estate, she jumps at the chance. Thinking she’ll be able to relax and enjoy her beloved English countryside while her sister snags the handsome heir of Edenbrooke, Marianne finds that even the best laid plans can go awry. 

From a terrifying run-in with a highwayman to a seemingly harmless flirtation, Marianne finds herself embroiled in an unexpected adventure filled with enough romance and intrigue to keep her mind racing. Will she be able to rein in her traitorous heart, or will a mysterious stranger sweep her off her feet? Fate had something other than a relaxing summer in mind when it sent Marianne to Edenbrooke. 

Susan has recommended this book to me several times, so I finally bought it and read it this summer while we were on vacation. I enjoyed it. In fact, I haven't swooned over a book like this since Twilight. The one thing this book has going for it over Twilight is stronger characterization. The heroine has a strong personality, and the hero is swoon-worthy. There were problems with the book--mainly characters overreacting to small things and plots that didn't develop fully enough before twisting, but I look forward to more books by this author and in this line.

5. Guards, Guards  By Terry Pratchett. Recommended as a good jumping-in place for the Discworld books. Fantasy

Welcome to Guards! Guards!, the eighth book in Terry Pratchett’s legendary Discworld series. 

Long believed extinct, a superb specimen of draco nobilis ("noble dragon" for those who don't understand italics) has appeared in Discworld's greatest city. Not only does this unwelcome visitor have a nasty habit of charbroiling everything in its path, in rather short order it is crowned King (it is a noble dragon, after all...). 

How did it get there? How is the Unique and Supreme Lodge of the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night involved? Can the Ankh-Morpork City Watch restore order – and the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork to power? 

Magic, mayhem, and a marauding dragon...who could ask for anything more?

I was promised that Guards, Guards was the perfect jumping in point for the discworld series, and so I finally took the leap. It was lots of fun. I'm not a discworld aficionado yet, but I'll definitely read another one. What should I read next?

6.. Perfect Scoundrels (Heist Society Book 3) by Ally Carter

Contemporary YA

From BooklistThe stakes are not only higher but also personal in this third Heist Society novel. Teen criminal mastermind Katarina Bishop gathers her fellow con artists to help one of their own, W. W. Hale the Fifth, when Hale’s wealthy tycoon grandmother dies suddenly—and mysteriously—leaving control of her billion-dollar corporation to underage Hale and the family’s greedy trustee lawyer. This time Kat’s not after cursed jewels or stolen paintings but the original will—even if it means losing Hale in the process. 

While jet-setting around the globe, scheming elaborate break-ins, and even pulling off a “Basil E. Frankweiler” maneuver in a high-security London museum, Kat must keep her feelings for Hale in check. Can she trust her usually steadfast partner? Further complicating this cinematic caper is the meeting of Kat’s under-the-radar relatives and Hale’s socialite family. With razor-sharp dialogue, twists and tight squeezes galore, and one quick-thinking heroine, Carter doesn’t miss a step as she continues to entertain her numerous fans. Grades 7-10. --Angela Leeper

I adore Ally Carter, partly because I love a good spy flick, but I am usually underwhelmed by spy books. I'm often disappointed by the lack of characterization and character growth. This is a spy book you can get through in a few hours, without needing to keep notes to keep track of the story. And this book was particularly good because the characters grew and changed and had cool backstories.

What have you been reading this summer?


*This is a quote from my soon to be published book Alchemy. Sheena's character, Sam, says it at one point. You'll probably be reading it again, so now you're in the know.

Recent reading favorites

This past month has been absolutely insane for me: see my last post, etc. During such times of stress, escapism reading is especially helpful. Here are my three recent favorite books:

The Summer Prince

by Alaya Dawn Johnson

 Amazon Description:

 The lush city of Palmares Três shimmers with tech and tradition, with screaming gossip casters and practiced politicians. In the midst of this vibrant metropolis, June Costa creates art that’s sure to make her legendary. But her dreams of fame become something more when she meets Enki, the bold new Summer King. The whole city falls in love with him (including June’s best friend, Gil). But June sees more to Enki than amber eyes and a lethal samba. She sees a fellow artist.

Together, June and Enki will stage explosive, dramatic projects that Palmares Três will never forget. They will add fuel to a growing rebellion against the government’s strict limits on new tech. And June will fall deeply, unfortunately in love with Enki. Because like all Summer Kings before him, Enki is destined to die.

I adore the cover. I have no idea why this book is called The Summer Prince and not The Summer King.  Anyway, I loved the artist characters, the awesome worldbuilding (Futuristic Brazil! With hints of ancient Maya!) and the way art intersected with politics. It slumped a bit in the middle when it ditched art for pure politics, but then the quality picked up again in the last third. 

Pro tip: do not take this book to read when you go out to dinner, or you will end up blubbering into your pizza when you reach the ending. 

How to Lead a Life of Crime

by Kirsten Miller 

Amazon description:

A Meth Dealer. A Prostitute. A Serial Killer.
Anywhere else, they’d be vermin. At the Mandel Academy, they’re called prodigies. The most exclusive school in New York City has been training young criminals for over a century. Only the most ruthless students are allowed to graduate. The rest disappear.
Flick, a teenage pickpocket, has risen to the top of his class. But then Mandel recruits a fierce new competitor who also happens to be Flick’s old flame. They’ve been told only one of them will make it out of the Mandel Academy. Will they find a way to save each other—or will the school destroy them both?

  

Interesting and unusual. The first half of the book is a fun read… and then Joi shows up, and well… that half of the book is why this it made its list. Can't say much more about the book without giving anything away.

The Raven Boys

by Maggie Stiefvater 

From the front cover flap:

"There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve," Neeve said. "Either you're his true love . . . or you killed him."

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them -- until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.\
 But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little. 

His name is Gansey, and he's a rich student at Aglionby the local private School. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

I liked this author's other recent book, The Scorpio Races. It was beautiful and atmospheric. And yet I didn't love it. I loved everything about this one and was almost immediately entranced. I also appreciate that Maggie Stiefvater’s books feel deeper and more substantial than a lot of other YA stuff I read. Not that there’s anything wrong with fun, fluffy books, but rather with those that aspire to complex subjects but only brush the surface.

Less than a month until the sequel comes out. But it's a four book series. Clearly, I have years of suffering to come. But it'll be so, so worth it.

What have your great summer reads been? 

What I Learned from WriteOnCon and the Dreaded Query Letter

WriteOnCon is a free, online, view whenever you have a moment, writing conference.  Which is exactly the kind of conference that I need.  I remember hearing bits about it last year and leading up to this year, but I didn’t think much of it.  For some reason just a few days before it started, I decided to give it a try, and I’m glad I did. 

Here’s what I learned.

1.  Go next year.  It was awesome.  Well worth the price and time.
 
2.  Next year, go as soon as the forums open, and put up your query letter and opening pages.  Other attendees critique each other before the ninja agents come through.  This will give you time to make your writing sparkle and shine.  I put mine up late, and did get some great feedback, but I think I could’ve gotten more if I had been early (my query letter did get ninja’d (critiqued by an agent) which was awesome even if no further materials were requested.  Maybe next year).

 

3.  There are a lot of aspiring, hardworking writers out there who are really talented.  There were quite a few query letters and opening pages that really grabbed my attention.  If they were published, I would be reading them right now.  This is great for me the reader because the more awesome books out there the better, but humbling for me the writer.  I guess I need to be reminded every once and a while how fierce the competition really is.  So many manuscripts fighting to capture the attention of so few publishers.  Yay, for self-publishing back up plan.

 

4.  Writing query letters sucks.  I realize that it is hard, but it is a skill that I need to learn.  I recognize that, but I still feel the need to vent a little because it is really, really hard.  So please bear with me, for a moment. 

 

The whole problem with query letters is that they need to be short (~250 words), but they need to do so much in that little space:  present a sympathetic MC, an antagonist, a problem, and what is at stake while giving hints of setting (world-building), voice, and genre.  The typical critique on query letters is asking for clarifications which is frustrating being on the receiving end because there is no room to make those clarifications.  It is also hard to add in voice when you need to be so Spartan with your words.  I know it is possible to do all of these things in a query letter.  I just haven’t figured out how to do it yet, so it is rather frustrating. 

 

5.  The most common compliment I saw on query letters from those ninja agents was, “Love this concept” or “what an original concept” or something positive about the concept.  I’m thinking that for an agent, concept sells.  Agents and editors are looking for some fresh new idea, and if you have one, you have an advantage, and if you don’t, like me….I guess I need to work on the voice of my query letter.  Sigh.

6.  Continuing the query letter theme, here is some new advice (at least it is new to me) on how to write a great query letter.  The gist of it is that the query letter should answer these questions.

-Who is the protagonist?  What does he/she/it want physically and emotionally?

-Who is the antagonist?  What does he/she/it want?

-How does the protagonist plan to get what he/she/it wants?

-How does the antagonist plan to stop the protagonist?

7.  New Adult (college age protagonists) is finally a hot new genre.  I’ve always thought that a lot of YA would work better with college age protagonists, and isn’t being on your own for the first time just ripe with conflict?  I’ve never read any book labeled New Adult, but I think I might write it.  I guess I better start reading it.  For more info on New Adult link here and here. 

8.  Here are a few other interesting articles/sessions that I enjoyed:  Should writers worry about trends and marketing, Diversity in writing, and Adding emotion to your writing.  You can find all the talks/articles of WriteOnCon here. 

Well, that was what I got from WriteOnCon 2013.   For those of you who attended, what did you learn from the experience, and for those of you who did not attend, I hope to see you there next year.

~MaryAnn

 

Some Grumbling About Chaos Theory And More Advice About How To Get It All Done

First things first: P.S. I just started a facebook page for this new book. There isn't much on it yet, but if you want to watch it grow from the ground up, this is your chance!

For some reason, I had it in my head that Sheena, Sabrina and I were supposed to be finished with editing by this Wednesday, though it turns out our actual deadline isn't until Sunday. In one way, that has turned out marvelously. I got my edits done by Wednesday. But Sheena and Sabrina are still going strong, which means I didn't really finish editing on Wednesday.

Having three people edit a novel simultaneously from three different spots across the country (literally) is no easy task. We are each editing our own sections, but each section is tied to all the others, so sometimes it feels like our characters can't even take an extra breath without causing a tidal wave throughout the rest of the story. We have to check endlessly that what we are writing isn't going to affect anybody else. It usually does. (We are an experiment in Chaos Theory.)

I'm soooooooooo ready to be done with it. My children have unlocked levels of Mario Super Brothers that they never dreamed they'd see, and you don't even want to know how dirty my kitchen floor was before I finally cleaned it on Wednesday. Editing is beginning to feel like the movie Groundhog Day. I think I'm done, but the next day it starts over. Grumble, grumble, grumble.

On the other hand, I feel honored to be writing with these amazing women. This is the hard part, where we could be seeing each other at our worst, but it isn't like that at all. We're still managing to joke and to find nice things to say to each other. Plus they are insanely talented. I am very blessed.

My point, if I have one, is that I could have used Susan's Pomodoro post a few weeks ago. I'd never heard of that method, and simple as it is, I can't wait to try it, and to teach it to my children, who really need to learn not to stop doing homework every time a text or instant message comes through.

This post about Joss Whedon and his advice on how to be prolific has come in handy for me the past few days. Joss Whedon seems able to think outside the box in a way that few successful people in the entertainment industry are able to do.  As a bonus you can watch the trailer for Much Ado About Nothing, which is in select theaters, none of which are in Maine.

Here's another timely article from the same site: How To Be Successful At Everything

Which led me to this one about note taking and success. I'm usually a failure at taking notes, but Sheena, Sabrina and I have had to take meticulous notes about what we are doing, or it would have ended badly. Crossing my fingers that this particular habit will last past Sunday.

Time Management or How to Get it All Done

Do you remember those summer days as a kid that seemed to last forever and forever?

These last few months, I've been watching my kiddo do that miraculous kind of time travel. Between dawn and dusk she has an endless supply of minutes for adventuring and play dates and getting into amazing, fabulous summer trouble.

Me? I'm up two hours before her and go to bed three hours after, and there's so much to do, and I. Just. Can't. Find. The. Time.

I've read all that stuff about prioritizing, and making lists and blah, blah, blah. For me, I can do all that, but actually implementation?
Yeah.

Enter Pomodoro.

Isn't it cute?

Okay, you've probably all heard of it.

Pomodoro is a method of working on something for 25 minutes with a timer (preferably one shaped like a tomato since Pomodoro means tomato in Italian). In a pinch, there are about a ton of countdown timers online you can use.

Anyway, after working for 25 minutes, you take a five minute break and then back at it onto your next Pomodoro.

So, a little math. Assuming you sleep for 8 hours (ha!), there are sixteen hours in a day. If you use the Pomodoro method of 25 + 5 minute blocks, you have 32 Pomodoros a day.

What it the world can you do with that?

• Force yourself to focus on writing - you can stay off Facebook or FreeCell for a measly 25 minutes, can't you?

• Clean something (I actually ran into a  similar idea on the fabulous Fly Lady site years ago - clean/sort for 15 minutes then spend 10 putting away what you cleaned/sorted - love FlyLady.)

• Work on a project that's really, really hard for you - in a short 25 minutes it will be over!

• Tabata

• Couch to 5k (Okay, maybe a little over a Pomodoro, but not by much.)

• Write a blog post.

• Cook dinner. Or freeze dinner.

• Have an endless summer moment with your kiddo.

You can't do it all. But you can do some of it.
What would you do with 25 minutes?

~Susan

And that just happened...

This morning I remember walking carefully down the stairs in my house, clutching my laptop to my chest. Tricia's post about when she accidentally dropped her laptop down a flight of stairs was weighing on my mind. It's been a worry now for a while, that I'd break it, or a kid would spill a glass of water on it, or that this brilliant pathway into my stories would somehow crack.

I had time, I thought, to scroll facebook, and check up on my friends before I got to the serious workload ahead of me. There's seven days left until Alchemy, the story you've undoubtedly heard to much about, goes to the editor, and my list of things held about twenty days worth of work. In the time I should have been writing, I read one of my friends post on facebook, as he question the appeal of Doctor Who, and like any true Whovian, I had to defend a fictional character. So that, my dear friends, is the writing I got done today before I shut the laptop and took the kids to school. There would be time later to do my day's work, I reasoned.

And then, not ten minutes after I shut it down, I put my two year old in front of some toys and PBS, I sat down in my most comfortable chair, turned the laptop back on, and opened up my work. That's where I was, when I adjusted one fateful time, and the laptop slid from my lap and crashed a foot away-- not on the lush carpet below me, but against the corner of the coffee table.

Two black ovals cut through the strange multicolored lines that now take up the left side of my laptop screen. They look like a glimpse into the cosmos really, darker than seems possible, and surrounded by bright neons, and pure white. It'd be pretty if it wasn't so soul crushingly broken, and expensive to fix.

I cried. A lot. I'd be lying if I were to say I wasn't an hair's breadth away from crying right now. Which is silly in the long run. especially when I read Karen's post, and Sabrina's post. What is a broken laptop screen, when your family is healthy, or your life is a steady drum of the expected. I'm typing now on my ancient desktop. Life goes on. The work is still there. It's not a big deal.

But here, my friends, for your viewing pleasure, are the last words I wrote on my laptop.  

I think the Doctor is one of the most interesting characters ever written. And it's not because of the bow tie, or the shoes, or the actor who's playing it. The Doctor is a coward. He's destroyed his own people, including his family and his friends, in order to stop a war that would destroy the galaxy.  He stole a Tardis and ran away to survive his own actions. He's now alone, a thousand years old, and has seen everyone he loves grow old and die, or worse, not grow old and die, but die at his responsibility. He's seen enough war, ridiculous villains, (and aren't all villains ridiculous? How cool of Doctor Who to point that out), and bleak sadness that he refuses to hold a gun, refuses to fight fire with fire, but instead fights bullies, anger, and resentment with humor,  intelligence, and heart. He runs away a lot, and saves as many people as he can, but there's always someone he can't save, and that's heartbreaking. When it becomes too dark and depressing to bear, he finds a way to sacrifice his own life in order to save others. And that's where the magic of Doctor Who comes in, it's not just that he's this dark twisted broken character, he can start over, fresh faced, and funny. He's a lonely mad man in a box, who should have been dead by now, but he keeps climbing out of his box and he doing good. He finds joy in the mundane. He finds importance in every person he meets. He makes friends, even though he knows he's going to see them die, and he knows it's going to hurt, but he doesn't turn away from pain. He's brave. What girl, nerd or not, wouldn't love that?

Rest in piece, my beautiful friend.

 I'll see you on Thursday.

~Sheena

Writing makes the World Go Round

Hello proser peoples! I’m Karen T. Smith, a newbie to the proser team, but a non-newbie to this great group of women and to the writing world in general. I’ve been friendly with most of the proser set for years, having first “met” online on Hatrack.com, Orson Scott Card’s site for writers. Today is my first official post as a proser (I’ve guest posted once before.) I’m happy to join such a great group of writers, and friends.

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I am a writer. I, apparently, come from a long line of writers. I have only recently discovered this fact. You see, my father is dying of cancer. I don’t say that to force your sympathy. Instead, I want the facts present in the story from the beginning so the other parts I tell will have adequate emotional weight. Even when writing a blog post, my writer brain is telling me which parts are important when.

My father has been sick for several months. It is awful, as awful as you can imagine. I am one of five children. I am not the one who “always knew she wanted to be a writer.” Frankly, if there is such a person in our family it’s my mother, whose gifts with words are a bit astonishing. And seriously, if ever you’re in need of a parody song for a special event or just for fun – my mom can rewrite the lyrics to just about anything. My whole journey to writing surprised even me and began 6 years ago when a book took me by the throat and wouldn't let me go until I decided I had to find out how to work such magic. I've been writing for years now, but it's still a new feeling to me, writing. The joy of creating words and putting them together into stories.

When my father was first diagnosed in Feb of 2013, one of my sisters helped my mom start a blog. It helped my mom communicate the same information to many people all at once, like this early example. And, a surprising benefit, it gave her an outlet for some of the, shall we say “Cancer Crazies?” The really annoying crap you have to deal with when deeply involved in any kind of health care crisis. The strange things that happen. The frustrations. The good days. It gave her a place to talk about all of it. And as one of four children (three surviving) herself, it gave her siblings a place to check in with her, as well as their children (my cousins. Loads of us…) and even my siblings and I, too. We could all take the written temperature of things by checking the blog several times a week.

As my father’s illness has worsened, my siblings and I have taken over guest posting on Mom’s blog as her available time has decreased and she’s choosing to spend it with Dad instead of writing.

And I’ve discovered the most amazing thing. We are ALL writers. Every last one of us. Five kids, five very very different paths through the US (and some abroad) educational system. Some of us have college degrees. Some of us have multiple degrees. Some, not so much. College isn’t for everyone, after all. But all of us, to a one, are truly excellent writers.

Could this be because we’re writing about a subject as dear to us as our own father? Sure, that's part of it. However, after thinking about this quite a lot, I have come to a slightly more evolved point of view.

How often as a writer do you find yourself questioning your word choice? Wondering if you conveyed an idea correctly? Dithering over whether this or that way would be better for expressing this or that idea?

I suggest to you that every person does this all the time, because with email (and it’s red-headed stepchildren, texting and facebook statuses and twitter and the ilk) we humans find ourselves communicating in writing much more than ever before. And it’s hard.

It used to be that writers were a rare breed. Kind of like an emu. An animal maybe you’ve heard of. Possibly you’ve seen it in a zoo once or twice. But regular everyday familiarity with emus was something only zookeepers and wildlife photographers had.

But now? We are all writers. Every one. And it can be hard, painfully hard to write about the realities of life. These painful realities my family is living right now. It is so very very hard. See? I had to resort to the old writerly trick of repeating the same word to make my point, it’s that hard.

But while it is so very hard, there is beauty in the writing. In the process of writing. And in the words themselves. Even for people who don’t self-identify as writers (none of my siblings do. I stand alone in my new profession.) There is self-realization here. There is understanding. There is connection. There is truth.

Here in words on the page (be it virtual or tactile, it doesn’t matter,) is where truth lives. And as my siblings have written, and we have shared with each other these tender moments, these true stories, these meaningful bits, we are together, even while living in Seattle, Phoenix, Chicago, and Orlando (it’s almost like we were TRYING to get as far away from one another in adulthood as possible, one might think.)

And as we each have opened up a window to our souls by writing, something really amazing is happening. People all over, people who know my parents but maybe don’t know us kids very well at all., people are listening. People are reading. People are responding. People are CONNECTING.

Writing. This simple act of typing words on a screen is solidifying bonds across miles and years as my parent’s friends both past and present are finding ways to connect with our family. We are reaching people.

And all we’re doing is writing.

My family, circa 1980. I'm the one in the front in her first communion dress. Dad's mustache needs a caption of its own.