Whoa, so my world has been blown apart and re-pieced together in four days. Here it is in a nutshell: my son is NOT autistic, although he is exhibiting autistic behavior on top of his normal Williams Syndrome behavior. We’re going to be hitting more occupational, speech, feeding, etc etc therapy in a big, big way. Frankly, I’m exhausted just thinking about it. I’ll discuss more of that on my family blog.
In other news, I was linked to the 52 Stitches trailer today. Which I thought rocked, hardcore. Why did I love it so much, you might ask? Because it’s based on my story, “I’m Keeping It Light”! Check out that particular story here and also drop by the current story, “Nuts” by Jameson T. Caine at www.52stitches.blogspot.com.
Also, Friday was a great day because my friend Pyper and I 1) went shopping 2) stopped by Borders and picked up A Cup of Comfort for Parents of Children with Special Needs. I was thrilled because it was the first piece of mine that you could actually walk into a book store and find, no special ordering necessary. I took pictures of Pypes reading the book and looking extremely interested (way, way too interested. Suspiciously interested.) and she took one of me looking absolutely goonishly happy. Because I was. There was a little tap dance that should never have happened (I took tap for, what, three months?) and then we had Chinese food and discussed stilettos, bustiers, anime, and I think there was a chicken recipe that came up…no, that was with my mother-in-law.
I’m also getting some help on my query letter. I thought about sending it to queryshark, but I didn’t want to bleed in the water. My feelings are delicate, you know. And then when I was lurking on Carrie Harris’ blog, I read a post that vowed to slice-n-dice query letters with humor, not just rows of serrated teeth. I offered to trade a handmade purple ninja for this service, so we’ll see how it goes! I’ll link you later. Bwa ha.
I am currently reading Kurt Newton’s Dark Demons (I’ve become somewhat of a creepy fan) and Jennifer Pelland’s Unwelcome Bodies. I read short story collections like I read poetry: alternated with another author’s work. That way the author’s voice feels fresh and new each time that I come back to it. These collections have made me ponder two things: Thing A) I need to pay more attention to my vocabulary. It’s become a bit monosyllabic of late. Thing B) I can really write so much better than I have been. I have been so busy that a little bit of writing seems to be better than none at all, but I’m sacrificing quality and soul for tiny bits of straw for my nest. I need to slow something down so that I can devote 100% of my attention while I write. I really ought to throw a wrench into the gears of the cosmos. Yes, I think that would help.
On our trip, I spent maybe ten minutes in a hammock, watching dandelion fluff twirl in the breeze. Ten minutes isn’t long, but I felt the course of my life alter in that time. It shifted to something substantial. It shifted to something beautiful.
0 Comments on “I’m Baaaaack.”
You. Kick. Ass.
I went to Borders on Friday too! It wasn’t there though. 🙁 I’ll have to see if it’s on amazon or try and pick it up this summer in Utah. I’m so so glad your weekend went well and thank you for the phone call!
Ditto what Natalie said. 🙂