The Muse

I just had a new niece born this morning... and my nephew was born on Sunday. Babies everywhere.

Meanwhile, we're still fighting the plague here. The husband has my cold from last week. The son is finally over the stomach flu and has also come down with a wicked cold. The daughter is still recovering from puking her body weight yesterday. It's only a matter of time for me. My days are numbered.

So, I've been listening to "You Suck" by Christopher Moore, and listening to/reading books sometimes screws up my inner voice so that I struggle with writing. On the bright side, it gives me time to work on rewrites. (I'm on Parallel Lives from the Sarah Chronicles.) Also, "You Suck" is one of the funniest vampire books I've ever read. It has a lot of sophomoric humor and isn't appropriate for a vast number of ages, but sometimes... that's just what you need. It seemed "right" to listen to a vampire book in October.

I've been trying to get back into my running habit. My six mile loop is far more hilly than I remember. I think someone added some hills. I'm still not really "running" so much as getting used to the distance and my running shoes. I need new running shoes that don't rip up the back of my feet. Anyway, I listen to audiobooks while I run and clean, so I might have to figure out a way to coexist with these other "voices" in my head. Actually, multiple voices in my head is really nothing new... insanity is like that. I'm hoping I'll get back that lovin' feeling soon. I want to get back into writing the "Chosen Changeling" but I don't know what happens next. I usually always know. This is my version of "writer's block." I hate it. Maybe I should go back to Honor Six since I know what happens in the next scene; I just haven't written it.

This is part of why I struggle with reading fiction while writing. I get so into stories that I can't get back into mine and it makes me miserable. I feel like I'm failing my characters... who are disturbingly real to me. I need to tell stories at nearly an unhealthy level. I just feel a little lost today.

I also read the story "His and Hers" by Dawn Calvert. It's a really great story with "THE WORST" cover/title/blurb of all time. The cover makes it look like a bodice-ripper when in reality it falls much closer to the "fiction" genre than "romance." I just keep looking at the cover and thinking "When did this scene even happen... between the last chapter and the epilogue... maybe?" The title is puzzling also. Then... there is the back blurb. Honestly, I'm shocked every time I see it in my collection. (I'm not a bodice-ripper type of person.) The premise of the story... the hook... isn't even covered by the blurb on the back page. It's even misrepresented. It's bizarre. I've never been more tempted to rip the cover off a book... for shame on whoever put that cover on the book. It's NOT a historical romance either. Ugh. Just a mess of a cover. THE WORST mess of a cover I've ever seen. The author has real talent, and they put this tacky cover on to "sell" it. I might have to rip the cover off this time. I can barely stand it. It's disturbing to think that someone had enough power to "do" this to a book.

The premise of the book is fascinating, though. This woman, plagued with bad luck, wishes on a rock, transporting herself into a Victorian England novel. (Think Jane Eyre... Pride and Prejudice....) The author, who lives in the time period, is struggling to write a novel that is satisfying. All of the characters are aware that they are "characters," and they're trying to help bring about a "happy ending" where the book is saved, and they can live out their fictional lives. If the author loses hope and throws the pages into the fire, they all die. So, the main character, Jane, has all this time between the author's writing times that she is getting to know all the other characters. The hero is not really a hero. The villain is not really a villain. Jane is trying to influence the writing while still a virtual pawn to the writer. It's a strange world where there is a whole existance within this novel... with stories not being told and lives hanging in the balance. Plus, there is Jane... who isn't a fictional person but she can't bring herself to leave the novel's characters without a happy ending and the more she gets to know the villain... the less she wants to go back to reality. It reminds me a little of Toy Story... in that I now feel guilty about not finishing novels. (Did anyone manage to watch Toy Story without feeling guilty about not taking proper care of their toys? Maybe I just have an overactive conscience.) In the back of my mind is this nagging little sadness for all these fictional characters that I've discarded who now live in limbo. At least I don't burn up manuscripts....

Anyway... bad cover... horrible title.... poorly-written blurb... excellant book. I'm thinking of finding "Hero Worship" which is along the same lines I believe. I'm also still thinking of ripping off the cover.

Well, it's eleven am. I should start doing something useful.