Rose's Pensieve

Miscellaneous

2011-08-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

mis·cel·la·ne·ous/ˌmisəˈlānēəs/Adjective
1. (of items or people gathered or considered together) Of various types or from different sources.
2. (of a collection or group) Composed of members or elements of different kinds: "a miscellaneous collection"

That's what this post is going to be.

First, I have to share what my creative children have been up to.

Why, yes, those are duct tape sandals. The girls love duct tape and I wish I'd figured this out before spending money on Nintendo DS/Wii/iPod/you name it. The cost of duct tape and cardboard is comparatively minimal. Also, in non-related news I was informed of something very exciting.

Eldest: Mom, my friend's boyfriend is best friends with Justin Bieber.

Me: skeptical look

Eldest: Really! Her boyfriend is, like, an actor and he's, like, bff's with Justin Bieber. See? Here's a picture of her boyfriend and Justin Bieber playing giant chess.

Me: Dude. I could Photoshop you in there and you could be playing giant chess with them.

Eldest: MOM! I'm not kidding!

Youngest: This is true shiz, mom.

Secondly, I have to share something I learned the other day. Do not go to Target with a red polo shirt and khaki shorts or you will be mistaken for an employee. I learned this the easy way. Husband did not. He had an "interesting gentleman" ask him where the Nicorette was and one other lady was about ask him where something else was, but she caught her mistake. This has actually happened to me, but it was at the Red Hook Brewery when I happened to be wearing a Red Hook t-shirt. Looking back, I wish I had pretended to be an employee just to see what would happen.

Lastly, all of this is me avoiding my wip. I only have 18 days left until I have to go back to the ol' day job, which is utterly exhausting. I am already looking forward to winter break.

So, without further ado, here is a parting photo funny. Happy Tuesday!

I can't take credit for the above photo... I think maybe it came from @StarTrekUpdate

REVIEW: Dust by Arthur Slade

2011-04-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to think of when I first heard of Arthur Slade. It could have been somewhere in the Compuserve Books and Writers Community or maybe one of my writer friends mentioned him... What I really remember is sitting in a workshop at the Surrey International Writers Conference about The Fantastical* and Arthur Slade was the speaker. I knew he was a stand-up guy pretty much right away because he said he was an AC/DC fan. And, guess what? He's a great writer, too. BONUS. For example, I was avoiding work as usual yesterday and happened upon a $.99 Kindle version of Dust (thanks to the lovely and talented Helene Boudreau). This was a book I'd been meaning to read ever since the aforementioned Fantastical Workshop where he read Chapter One. I've thought about that chapter off and on since October and yesterday the opportunity presented itself. You know when you get those opportunities and you hear that angelic "Ahhhhhhh!" along with harp music and the monitor of your laptop is extra bright and you are compelled to click that "Buy now with 1-click" button? Okay. Maybe you don't go through all that. My point is, this was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I read the whole thing yesterday and when I was finished I couldn't stop thinking about the story. Here's a bit from Arthur's website:

A stranger comes to the small town of Horshoe, promising rain. A child vanishes. And then another and another. But the townspeople are dazzled by magic mirrors and dreams of a green future. The only one who sees through the stranger's mesmerism is Robert, a boy on the cusp of manhood. A boy who must somehow confront the stranger.

This story was brilliantly paced, chock full of elegant description and the setting was faultlessly authentic. I was immediately sucked in and hung on for the entire ride. The characters popped from the pages (or whatever -- I was reading on my Kindle). Mesmerizing, really. Everyone should read it.

This book has won the 2001 Governor General's Award for Children's Literature, the 2001 Saskatchewan Book Award for Children's Literature, and the 2002 Mr. Christie's Book Award. It was also nominated for the 2004 Edgar Award. If that doesn't convince you, I don't know what will.

Did I mention he writes while walking on a treadmill? This guy is made of awesome.

*The Fantastical wasn't the name of the workshop. I can't for the life of me remember what it really was...

Amazing Girl: Adora Svitak

2011-02-25T09:17:00.000-08:00

For some reason I was thinking about this girl today. Her name is Adora Svitak. I first learned about her at a faculty meeting during inservice week last August.

Here's a bit from her profile at Ted.com: "A voracious reader from age three, Adora Svitak's first serious foray into writing -- at age five -- was limited only by her handwriting and spelling. (Her astonishing verbal abilities already matched that of young adults over twice her age.) As her official bio says, her breakthrough would soon come 'in the form of a used Dell laptop her mother bought her.' At age seven, she typed out over 250,000 words -- poetry, short stories, observations about the world -- in a single year."

She is thirteen now. I want to be like her when I grow up.

What did you do today?

2011-02-24T16:36:00.000-08:00

Well?

Okay. Here's what I did on this happy little snow day (yes, it actually *did* snow today). I slept in, stared at TweetDeck, played TrekTrivia on said TweetDeck (tied for first with @beckyblackbooks) *pats self on back*, stared at Outlook because I'm waiting for an email, made lunch for the kiddos, and called my mom. OH! And I watched the launch of Discovery on its final mission (STS-133 - check out the deets here http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/newui/blog/viewpostlist.jsp?blogname=bolden) This is always a nail-biter since in my lifetime I've seen two launches come to a disastrous end.

So, most of the day I did have my rear end in a chair but I didn't write anything important. Should have been researching some non-fic projects or even more research and writing on Wake Island. Social Media ruled my life today. I should probably get an Alphasmart or something because the internet is just too tempting. Now it's almost dinnertime.

I do feel better for having admitted my slacker ways. Which I guess is okay since I don't have a deadline right now.

Happy News!

2011-02-23T07:37:00.000-08:00

Yay for Linda Grimes! I woke up this morning to find that she has, with the help of her wonderful agent, scored a TWO book deal with Tor. Tor! Wow.

In other happy news, it's a snow day for my eldest. That's pretty cool, but not as cool as a two book deal with Tor. I'm also almost finished with www.roseholck.com but that isn't as cool as a two book deal with Tor either.

Linda, I'm super proud of you! I can say I knew you when. Like when we almost got killed driving back from Surrey? That would have put a damper on the whole book deal thing, right?

Brief thoughts on the Cookbook Collector

2010-11-23T12:19:00.000-08:00

The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Could be just me, but I grew tired of the characters. After the first seven or eight chapters, I ended up skimming. This was a book club pick. I might give it another chance at some point, but what really turned me off before I even cracked the book open were the comparisons to Jane Austen.

View all my reviews

Oh, I like this!

2010-11-16T20:39:00.000-08:00

Coming in March...

2010-11-08T15:41:00.001-08:00

I'm very excited to say Leavenworth will be out in March!

From the back cover: "Leavenworth, located in the central Cascades of Washington state, was once known as Icicle, and has been home to Native Americans, settlers, miners, railroad workers, and loggers. The native tribes came to this pristine and bountiful area to hunt game and fish for salmon. The promise of gold brought miners to Leavenworth, and once the Great Northern Railroad laid down its tracks in the late 1800s, the town moved from Icicle to its present location. The Lamb-Davis Lumber Company also built a sawmill in town, but when the railroad relocated its tracks and moved its hub to Wenatchee, the sawmill closed in 1926. The little boomtown in the Cascades went bust, but it was reinvented by its residents in the early 1960s with a Bavarian theme. The Bavarian premise of Leavenworth is still intact, and today the city draws around 2.5 million visitors annually."

I love this little town and have learned so much while writing this book. The Upper Valley Museum at Leavenworth was immensely helpful and I could not have written this without their enthusiastic support.

Scotty, beam up the librarian.

2010-08-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

I have an online gallery!

2010-07-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

Just for kicks, I decided to set up an online gallery at artistrising.com. Check it out! It still says my work is not for sale, but it will be as soon as they set it up with the printers.

http://www.artistrising.com/galleries/roseholck

I have caved.

2010-06-30T12:19:00.000-07:00

I'm on Twitter now @roseholck.

Evergreen Academy students published!

2010-06-07T12:53:00.000-07:00

Six, count 'em, six of my students will soon become published poets! Their poems along with those from students in Washington, Alaska, Oregon and Idaho will be published in an anthology called A CELEBRATION OF POETS. Only the best of the best were chosen for this anthology. I am proud of them all.

The whole shebang is sponsored by Creative Communication. Check them out here:

http://www.poeticpower.com/

Way to go poets!

NaNoWriMo

2009-11-02T09:14:00.000-08:00

I'm doing it! Even though I cram a full-time teaching schedule into four days, which cuts into writing time significantly. That doesn't even count the nights I spend marking and prepping.

50,000 words in one month? Sure. But here's the deal. Some of the words will not be new, and I'm okay with that. I just want to finish a frickin' novel for once in my life. :-)

Hawaii

2009-10-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

Sigh.

It is raining here. A miserable, soggy, mind-bogglingly disgusting day. I just checked A Novel Woman's blog and her photos make me want to speed off to the airport and purchase a one-way ticket to Hawaii with nothing else in my bag but my toothbrush and swimsuit.

Since I can't do that due to the fact I'd suffer debilitating mommy guilt, I'll just post photos instead. Maybe I'll have a beer, too. It is my day off after all.

Stuff that looks like faces.

2009-08-15T21:00:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite photos from my Hawaiian vacation is the one that looks like a face. I'll post it again so y'all don't have to scroll down. This one was a tiny detail in a giant clam shell I checked out at the Waikiki Aquarium. An amazing place BTW. Check it out.

I was looking through all my other photos to see if I had anything else that qualifies. Here's a close up of a Cauliflower Coral I encountered while snorkeling off Waikiki Beach.

This face -- well it really is a face, but I thought it worthy of a spot here.

And another...

Okay. Back to my original point. Look around you. I mean really look around. What do you see? Sure, most of us see the big stuff. But if you really look, you can find amazing things. Faces for instance. But the world is really rather beautiful if you slow down and just look.

Some Hawaiian vacation photos.

2009-08-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

Super Mario Bros.

2008-12-31T16:07:00.000-08:00

I have a confession.

Hi, my name is Rose and I love Super Mario Bros.

There. I said it. It's not even a new version of the game. It's the old-school, blocky, crappy graphics one. I can't stop playing it. So, when I saw this video on YouTube, I laughed my head off. Enjoy!

Stuff that's flippin' sweet.

2008-11-24T22:09:00.000-08:00

1. This trailer. (I heart Star Trek.)
2. The Ender's Game world and the amazing mind of Orson Scott Card.
3. Facebook. Specifically, hooking up with old friends from the Godfather's Pizza era who know way too many embarassing things about you.

So, what about you? What's flippin' sweet in your world lately?

Half-Blood Prince Trailer

2008-07-30T22:14:00.000-07:00

Oh, man. I. Am. Stoked.

And now, back to Wake Island.

2008-06-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

I think my upcoming trip to Hawaii has inspired me to work more on Wake Island. There are several places I'd like to visit as part of researching both wips, but the place I'm most excited about is the National Memorial Cemetary of the Pacific (aka Punchbowl). The 98 POWs that remained on Wake Island during the war were eventually executed. Their remains were moved to their final resting place in the Punchbowl.

I know (not personally) of a few guys who were of the 98 and I'd like to pay my respects. I'm sure dad knew them, too. Punchbowl actually used to be an ancient sacrifice site then a firing range during the '30s and eventually became what it is today. Construction for this cemetary began in the late '40s.

I've updated my word count meter and have to say, if you are a friend reading my blog, this is why I've been so quiet (psssst KWC). I have to put my head down and power through until this baby is done. I realized last night I have been working on this since '04, so I say it's time to be done. I've only got one other project (Leaping Place of Souls) going and I refuse to let myself start any more until I'm finished with one of the wips.

I'd like to mention that I've been reading Bill Taylor's RESCUED BY MAO and so far, it is one of the best reads on the subject of what happened to the Wake Island guys. If you are a WWII buff, go buy it. It is one of the best stories of bravery, selflessness and guts out there. Also consider the History Channel production WAKE ISLAND: THE ALAMO OF THE PACIFIC.

Off to work!

School's out.

2008-06-24T00:35:00.000-07:00

Heh heh. I loved The Muppet Show when I was little. This stuff would never fly now.

Sort of tagged by Suze.

2008-04-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

Well, not really. She doesn't really tag which is good because she's probably way faster than I am and I'd always be it. This here post is really in response to her blog.

Rules of the "tag":

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.

The book? Michael Palin Diaries 1969 - 1979: The Python Years.

The bit from p. 123:

When we arrived there, about thirty people were sitting around tables in a dark basement, drinking.

Slowly but surely, it became obvious that we could not get away without some sort of cabaret. Eric and Terry first took the microphone and, after some opening banter, asked for questions.

I really ought to be writing, but I think I'll go read this book.

Suck it up, Rose.

2008-04-14T23:18:00.000-07:00

I just figured out what comes next in the Wake Island wip. But I'm tired. {whine}

If I am serious about finishing this wip by August, I'd better suck it up.

Chad Vader

2008-04-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

Ha ha ha ha ha!

Neat-o

2008-04-13T21:11:00.000-07:00

I discovered while stalling, I mean getting ready to write, that if you do a Google search for hermaphrodite cow I show up #8 in the list. Which I find very exciting for some reason.

Ahhhhh.

2008-04-12T18:32:00.000-07:00

What a great afternoon.

It started off with a great morning. DH went to the cleaners before I even got out of bed and stopped off for coffee on the way home. Mmmmm. Then, I got to have lunch with a couple of kick-ass chicks, Kathy and kc. 'Cept the Bleu Ribbon Burger is sitting in my gut like an anvil.

I got home just in time to see DH off on his trip and now I'm just hangin' with the girls who are out front and yelling for me to join them. And it is sunny out.

I hope y'all are enjoying your day, too!

Laugh o' the day.

2008-04-09T14:35:00.000-07:00

Star Trek and Monty Python? What more could a girl ask for?

Writing...

2008-04-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I added a word count do-dad here for Wake Island. I even made tremendous (for me) progress yesterday but I'm not updating the word count on the meter until I catch up to the word count already listed there.

Riddle me this...

2007-12-29T11:29:00.001-08:00

Take a look at this picture.

You may think it is a female cow, but nooooo. This is a male cow. With female parts. This is Otis the Cow from Nickelodeon's Back at the Barnyard. It's a pretty funny show, but I can't get past the fact that the MALE cow has an udder. Why, oh why?

Ok. So, here's me to my eldest: "Is that a boy or a girl cow?"
Big A: "Boy."
Me: "Why does it have an udder? You know udders have milk. Girl cows give milk, not boy cows."
Big A: "Yeah. But this is a boy cow."
Me: "I don't get it."
Big A: "It's just a cartoon, mom."

And then she rolled her eyes. Apparently, the hermaphrodite cow doesn't bother her at all.

Maybe it's not really a hermaphrodite... After all, I don't see any male genetalia. Maybe this cow is a girl cow and her inner bull is coming out.

Well. It's over, eh?

2007-12-28T14:22:00.000-08:00

And I can breathe a huge sigh of relief. The girls had their three consecutive days of opening presents and generally being spoiled. Three is about three too many. Or maybe two. We did enjoy our day. We opened presents and went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. Not too bad. Then we topped it all off with a kickass dinner which consisted of rib roast, mashed potatoes, yorkshire pudding and broccoli. And wine. Mmmmmm.

We've also managed to box up things we don't need anymore. I love clearing out the extra stuff.

And I've been critting and writing! All is well. {g}

Sick kids = catching up online.

2007-12-11T17:49:00.000-08:00

Big A was happy as a clam today watching her DVDs while I caught up with friends online.

And now Little A is sick, too. I guess it's just that time of year, isn't it?

Boring, I know, but that's it. Off to write.

Hee!

2007-12-06T23:01:00.000-08:00

Leaping Place Word Count

2007-12-03T21:09:00.000-08:00

Evidently, it will take more than 6,000 words to tell this story.

Here I go.

Heath Bar Blizzards need not apply.

2007-07-23T22:25:00.000-07:00

Spider's Song

2007-06-30T01:13:00.000-07:00

Oh, Anita! Whatta book!

I was completely and utterly hooked.

It got ugly in a good way. I snapped at my family. "What? You want dinner? But I'm reading Anita's book! Go away!" Then I sigh heavily and put the book down like some sort of martyr and proceed to the kitchen to make pasta.

Then I read more.

Then I drain the stupid pasta. Thinking about AJ and Ed the whole time. And Mark...

Then I dump a pile of parm on the pasta and plop it down on the table.

I read more.

Hubby comes home from Saskatoon. Whatever...

That was the other night. I had to wait to finish this book and it nearly killed me. The waiting part, that is.

I finished tonight and I had goosebumps when I did.

Go buy this book.

I heart these guys.

2007-06-30T00:59:00.000-07:00

Check this out. I just saw them on Comedy Central and they are high-larious.

Funny, funny, funny.

School's out!

2007-06-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

I am a happy woman (see title of blog entry). I'm also happy because I finalized my trip to Brantford where I will attend the Branford Summer Writing Workshops, aka the Brantford Adult Book Camp.

Yet another reason to be happy... Husband and I finalized our summer vacation plans! We're headed to Albuquerque, New Mexico. In August. No, we're not crazy. We know it will be blazing hot, but that's fine. There's a pool. And margaritas. And air conditioning. And margaritas. Did I mention the margaritas? {g}

Off to write!

I love this.

2007-04-30T21:31:00.000-07:00

Seeing Red has this on her blog and I laughed my ass off. So I'm totally puttin' it here, too. Enjoy!

Summer Writing Camp at Evergreen Academy!

2007-04-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

While eldest is home sick today, I thought I'd use the time to whip the yearbook into shape and plan my summer writing camp.

It will be in the library during the week of July 23rd from 9 to noon. I'm hoping to snag a local author to come and visit us for one of those days. The goals of the camp are to get these kids *excited* about writing and convince them that they are all writers. They will work on their stories during the week and, hopefully, I'll be binding their work together for them to take home.

If you're an Evergreener, all the sign up info went home in the Friday Folders.

I Hate Moving

2007-04-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

I really do. I'm just not cut out for it.

I am currently being punished for my lack of organizational skills: I have no internet at my apartment until Friday, my wardrobe is split up in boxes between the apartment and the house, I don't have any mayonnaise, I don't have any liquor, and I am also out of coffee.

I'm at work and I've poached a signal from the neighboring apartments. Thank Dog for silly fools who do not encrypt their wireless. I would use the internet here at work, but it is filtered and, since all my friends cuss like sailors, checking my e-mail at work is an exercise in futility.

Over and out.

The Leaping Place of Souls

2007-03-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

So, here's a good summary of the main idea that spurred me into writing this new book. It's from the Alternative Hawaii site (click here).

There is an ancient Hawaiian myth about a place called Kaena Point (on Oahu), which was known as the Leaping Place of Souls. The souls of the dead wandered this place until they leapt into the night, thus departing from the earth. Spooky, eh? Evidently, good souls moved to the right when they leapt and those who moved to the left when they leapt fell into the pit of endless night.

Rose is a pusher.

2007-03-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

After lunch today, my daughter and I wandered over to the local bookstore to take a photo of Vicki's book, The Scent of Shadows. See?

I've already read this, but I wanted one with the freakin' cool cover (foil letters!). I bought the last one. I also informed the friendly cashier person that he needed to buy a lot more of these things because it is a delicious book.

Then, I spent the last hour or so here at school going from class to class (school is not in session) telling all my teacher friends to buy it. They were all very impressed with the foil on the cover. {g}

So, go buy it.

Now I can get on with it.

2007-03-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

Report cards. Check!

Now I can get on with my life. I have a lot of words to make up, but it should be a piece of cake. I love cake.

Speaking of cake. Er. Okay. Not such a smooth transition, but I am over-the-top-stoked about the upcoming Surrey International Writers Conference this October. It's always such a shot in the arm. I'm hoping for the double-whammy this year because I plan to attend the annual Brantford Adult Book Camp in August. No, not those kind of adult books... Reminds me of that Tom Lehrer song. "Give me smut and nothing but..."

Off to write.

I am annoyed.

2007-03-07T17:09:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you why.

It is grading season here in teacherland.

I cannot give grades if I don't have access to the work.

I do not have access to the Third Graders' work. Why? Because those little darlings have a habit of screwing up the files. Why, just this evening, I found some of their work in the Fifth Grade folder. A self-promotion perhaps? I think not.

Next Tuesday's tech lesson will be, "I GIVE GRADES IN THIS CLASS, SO YOU'D BETTER PAY ATTENTION!" I am going to (again {sigh}) give a lesson on how to properly save your work.

Oddly enough, the Second Graders don't seem to have a problem with this.

Those Third Graders... They're a special bunch. Good thing I like them.

Hey. I've started a new project.

2007-03-02T10:09:00.000-08:00

I've been writing like a good girl today! My goal with this one is 6000 words. Actually, the project should be short, like 5000 words, but I've built in some cut room.

And what is it? Middle-grade historical fantasy. Heavy on the fantasy. Set in Hawaii. I love Hawaii.

Yeah, so if I write 500 words a day, it should take 12 days. I can do that.

Update: Yay, me! 618 words.

Oh, that last muse crack?

2007-03-02T10:06:00.000-08:00

Was a friggin' joke.

If I don't write, it's my own damn fault. I won't assign blame to some "muse" who constantly lurks around me, feeding my creativity.

When I don't write it is purely because I am being lazy. Or I'm busy with family life.

Muse. What-evah.

What?

2007-01-23T14:10:00.000-08:00

So, it's January. My last entry was July. So what?

I'm a busy gal.

And what did I do today? Lots of stuff. But I didn't write. Well, I wrote instant messages and posts in kidcrit if that counts.

Maybe my muse is on strike.

2006-07-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

Obviously it's not working. Or, at least I'm not blogging. I'm thinking about writing, which isn't writing . Consider this a test post.