These past few days, my allergies have been terrible, my kids have been whiny, the weather has been cruddy, the cats have been destructive, I'm hormonal (ie really scary - think Wicked Witch of the West) the house needs cleaning, the book I'm slowly but surely writing unexpectedly hit a very, very bad slime patch and I spent the last few days deleting 15,000 words (which is approximately sixty pages) and writing approximately nothing...
BUT THEN, days like today appear, straight out of nowhere, and butterflies and rainbows and fluffy kittens and bunnies frolic in the imaginary garden that is my life, and I wake up to a message from my awesome friend Betty who has the Superpinkymandy album by Beth Orton (love!) for me - which I have wanted for AGES but cannot find without dropping a starting bid of $300 on eBay for (ew, seriously, who has that kind of money for one CD?)(Even if it is a rare CD by Beth Orton).
And so now, not only have my allergies taken a rest, but my kids have stopped whining, the sun is shining, my house... well, that still needs help, but most importantly, I fixed the slime that is my book, and I am ready to try rewriting it - this time listening to Superpinkymandy on my iPod, which was what my book needed in order to survive (Yes, I am that neurotic).
So here's my song obsession:
Yay! And Betty, you are the epitome of all things awesome!
Happy Monday to all, and I hope your day is filled with butterflies and rainbows and kittens and fluffy bunnies, too!
xoxo,
Dear EB,
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to buy your book. I shall read it, and wonder which parts you wrote whilst listening to this gorgeousy music and also I will feel just a tad bit famousy for knowing you.
Lurve,
SLT
Dear SLT,
ReplyDeleteI will inscribe your copy with
'To my Bosom Buddy -
[something nice and inspiring will go here]
Sincerely, the famous Marisa Hopkins.
PS begin on Chapter 9 with track 1 of Superpinkymandy and you'll know.'
Lurve,
EB
Dear EB,
ReplyDeleteI'm currently listening to one of my random mixes of dope beats. They are a hot commodity. Also, I wonder what kind of writing "Party In The USA" would inspire? I'll bet that would be a nothing chapter you would have to delete later. Also, I wonder if staring at a whirling tomato would inspire you? If so, I expect creditation in the credits page. Also, I'll bet reading my blog will help you write gooder.
Lurve,
SLT
Dear SLT,
ReplyDeleteDude. Party in the USA doesn't get a nothing chapter. It gets an entire book. It is inspired. Because any song that has 'and then the Britney song was on' x3, deserves its own book.
Granted, the book will be about high school party girls who end up strung out and old looking before they hit college, but I'm thinking BEST SELLER!
And I will, of course, included you in the acknowledgments.
Lurve,
EB
um. can i cut in here?
ReplyDeletedear eb,
i was sure it was me who was gonna make your day brighter. but hey. betty beat me out. she's a good friend, she is.
sincerely,
w
Dear EB,
ReplyDeleteYou passed the test. Because I can't just say the words "I love Party In The USA" and still be credible except in certain company. So because you didn't immediately cast me aside in an air of disgusted aloofness, you, are in like flint. Or however that saying goes. I know that's just what you wanted.
Lurve,
SLT
Dear W,
ReplyDeletePlease do not underestimate the importance of yesterday's tweet, in which you are my BFF. Yesterday, which is, if you didn't already know the predecessor of today, was splendid as a result and made my day-brightening of today so much sweeter. For that, I thank you.
Sincerely,
EB
Uhm...
ReplyDeleteDear EB,
I just saw stuff about fluffy kitties and got all happy.
Sincerely,
MMTM
I've got the fluffy kitten part covered! :) Off to find some butterflies in this here wintry Switzerland!dro
ReplyDeleteSometimes all we need is a sunny spring day to make everything all right again (and awesome music doesn't hurt a bit!).
ReplyDeleteDear EB,
ReplyDeleteI simply can not imagine a slime patch in the book, but I'm certainly glad the slime is gone!
PS: I'm gonna have to look into this superpinkmandy business you have introduced me to some FAB music as of late!
Snigger,
The Ghost
Dear MMTM,
ReplyDeleteFluffy kitties!
Sincerely,
EB
Esque - oh man, it must be so cold there... we don't really have butterflies yet, not even in TX, but soon!
ReplyDeleteHeather - I know! Sunshine and good music is like a bandaid to the soul. Or to creativity, at least!
The Ghost,
ReplyDeleteDude. Just you wait. There will be slime. Or hopefully, I'll have figured things out before torturing you with it. We shall see.
Yours most thankfully for reading my slime,
EB
It's amazing how much easier the writing goes with the right kind of music playing in the background. What would I do without Brandon Flowers and The Killers? LOL!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I can't WAIT to read what you've been writing. SNEAK PEEK! SNEAK PEEK! SNEAK PEEK!
Can you put me down for a signed copy?
ReplyDeleteDear EB,
ReplyDeleteI'm a little confused about the epistolatory format here in the comments, but I like it anyway. So happy for you regarding the sunshine and bunnies and frolicking. Like you did with your cold, could you pass all these things along when you're done with them? I'd like to join you as A PICTURE of health soon.
Also, I paused aha shake heartbreak for that song...never make me do that again.
Love,
Critter on Hiatus
Melissa - Crit group!
ReplyDeleteDean - Sure thing :D Now if only I can just finish the darned thing, get an agent, snag a publishing deal... first.
Dear Critter on Hiatus,
ReplyDeleteI am more than happy to pass on the rainbows and butterflies and kittens and such! SO much better than germs, eh? Sorry for passing my germies through the computer to you... I feel awful.
Love, EB
PS, Beth Orton beats Kings of Leon any day. Just sayin'
GASP! Don't dis Kings of Leon! They're another group that gets me through my writing slumps. ;-)
ReplyDelete*sheepishly* okay, sorry. I do like KoL... but I also like Beth Orton. So.
ReplyDeleteAnd any music that pulls my peeps through their writing slumps deserves a big thumbs up.
*gives big thumbs up*
:-)
ReplyDeleteOMG I LOVE Beth Orton!! LOL at "the suckage." I think I'll start using that word. I know exactly how you feel. I have those kind of days all the time. Today it looks like a daycare vomited all over my house. Nice. I even found a toy in the toilet. No, I didn't flush it. But I thought about it because I hate that toy. Argh.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it's amazing what a difference one day (and a good song)can make. Here's to hoping tomorrow's better for me too!
LOL, Dena. Daycare vomited all over your house... yeah, I so totally get that!!
ReplyDeleteand wow, you're quick! ;) Good luck with WIBIJ!
The sun is shining in my front window for the first time in days. No kittens or bunnies around. But a fat squirrel did run across the street a few minutes ago. Does that count? Nothing like good tunes and a sunny day to make procrastinating feel like you've accomplished something.
ReplyDeleteOh, and if it makes you feel better, I once cut 15K from my WIP (when it was only 20K). It's better now. ;)
Hey Kris! Yes, the sunny days certainly do help!
ReplyDeleteand wow, 15 out of 20k... that is quite a lot! But cathartic, I'm sure, cutting to the good stuff of a WIP, huh? Days later, I'm SO happy I made my cuts!
Good luck with WIBIJ!
Marisa--You're an awesome WIBIJ host--thanks for cheering the contestants on!
ReplyDelete(And handing out the water and orange slices. I know it's a taxing race!)
I'll take the rainbows, but you can have the butterflies and kittens. Butterflies always fly right in my face when I'm running and freak me out. I mean really they're just yucky caterpillars. And kittens, well, they're kinda cute but then they grow up into snobby cats. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Heather! I've enjoyed handing out the orange slices :D
ReplyDeleteand Laura - elegantly snobby cats are my favorite kind :)
Cool song! I am a big music lover (though more into rock) and haven't heard of Beth Orton, so thanks for the intro!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of butterflies, I just ordered caterpillars to be delivered in a few weeks so my kids could watch it make a cocoon and then let the butterflies go! Ih hope they hang around the yard a bit!
Kelly - Aw, caterpillars!! I can't wait to do that with my kids once they are a little bit older! My 3yo currently thinks all bugs are for squishing...
ReplyDelete