Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Creeping Up on 2006

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas. Mine was pretty good. Me and the sibs went to Mom's place and greased our faces quite nicely. :-)

I got a sexy bedding set that I quickly put on the bed when I got home. It's striped with browns and golds and purples. It has pillow shams and bed skirts...I'm like GROWN UP now and whatnot, LOL I got some other cool things...one being a Nintendo DS. Totally geeked about that! Been playing it every day since I received it!

Now that the harried pace of Christmas is over, my fam is preparing to buy food for New Year's Eve; we always make food, watch movies, act crazy, and ring in the new year together.

As we crawl toward 2006, I can't help but to reflect on 2005, and all I have to say is I'm SO happy it's almost over. It's been one of the worst years in my life. So much has happened, a lot of it NOT GOOD, and I'm eager to jump into 2006 and follow the motto, MAKE ME HAPPY.

I've always put others' wants and needs in front of my own, and though I do foresee me continuing that tradition--I actually think I was born to do that--I will, however, focus on me and my goals and what I want more. I'm still fairly young (lol@self); there is no reason why my dreams can't all come true if I make them come true.

I've never been big on RESOLUTIONS for the new year, but this year, I think I will work toward making a "doable" list of goals, of SHON goals that deal only with me and no one else.

If you don't make yourself happy, truly happy, who will?

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Why do people stay with their mates until they ultimately cheat?

As you may know, I wrote a book in November titled "To Catch a Cheat." I've been almost obsessed with WHY people decide to cheat. My question always remains, why can't you LEAVE before you cheat?

Why am I asking this today? Well, the other night, I'm watching "Cheaters" on the tele, and this girl thinks her husband is cheating on her. I won't even get into the fact that she's working and supporting his lazy, no-having-a-job ass...that's a whole other story and blog post. Cheaters finds a mess of evidence that shows her husband is cheating on her...and been bringing his trick back to the wife's place, no less. Well, the wife and Cheaters bust up in the place and catch the boyfriend and his "friend" in bed. The "friend" flees; she happens to live in the same apartment complex--easy access on the husband's part. The husband is angry. How dare she do this to him, he says. She doesn't understand him or men, he tells Cheaters after the confrontation. She's angry right now and has no right to be, he argues. He hasn't been happy in a while, he keeps saying to his wife.

And this is when I tune out everything. I've heard it numerous times on the show. Read it in books. Heard it from friends and friends of friends: I haven't been happy in a while, or I haven't been happy for a long time.

Usually the mates of these people have asked until they are blue in the face, IS SOMETHING WRONG? ARE YOU UNHAPPY? ARE YOU CHEATING ON ME? And yet, time and time again, they cheat instead of being real men and women and fessing up to their feelings.

In the end, they are STUNNED, EMBARRASSED, and PISSED off that their lies have surfaced. They can't believe their mates have stooped so low as to call Cheaters on them...or to blow their spot in some regular, non-televised way.

It's like they don't get it, and I want them to SO badly. BE a man. BE a woman. If you do not love your mate, if you do not want to be with your mate, you should talk with them. See if there is something to be salvaged, or something to walk away from. Own up to your feelings and wants. It's better to be a man or a woman and have the sadness from a failed relationship between you and your mate than to have Cheaters busting down your door or getting a shot in the ass because you lied and pissed off the wrong person.

Just had to say...

...the cute boy @ school talked to me today. LOL@Self

Very minor. Meant nothing. But it was the time he's done it all semester, and so yeah, when I got into the elevator, and I was sure no one was around, I smirked and did a little happy dance.

I'm a dork. I'm openly admit it...and embrace it. :-P

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Interview with One of My Fave Authors: Reon Laudat



Your latest novel WANNA GET TO KNOW YOU came out in October. Tell us about it.

It's about a young woman who has problems letting go of her bad breaks. As a result, she's not living life to the fullest. This story focuses on her fear and her journey to move beyond it. She also has an unusual occupation (for a woman) that I found very interesting to write about.

What are your three guilty pleasures?

I know I watch way too much boob tube. But I can't help it. I love TV and at one point it was my job to watch it. Very cool. I worked as a television critic for a couple of years early in my journalism career. So my three top guilty pleasures are TV shows, of course. My newest favorite is Nip/Tuck on the FX. I'm also a reality TV show junkie (America's Next Top Model, The Bachelor/The Bachelorette, Survivor etc.) I love Lost, too.

There is the rule (and I have NO idea who began it) that says writers should write EVERY DAY. Do you follow this rule? Do you have a writing schedule? Do you think "serious" writers should have schedules? (LOL-TRIFECTA question here!)

It's good to write everyday, and I used to write everyday, but that was before I became a mommy for the first time. I'm home with my 11-month-old son. I can only write when he naps. He averages two naps a day and they only last about an hour each. When he naps I often have to decide what to do. Do I eat lunch? Take a shower? Finally brush my teeth? Do a load of laundry? Prepare dinner, etc.?? Sometimes I do some of those things and manage to squeeze in a page or two, but it's very difficult these days. By the time my husband comes home and takes the baby, I'm too exhausted to write.

I usually need a chunk of time--like at least three hours straight to get on a roll with my writing. So these days I don't get much serious writing done until the weekend or maybe late at night when my husband and the baby are sleeping.

I think writers should do what works for them. Some people aren't wired to work well with strict schedules.

What is the one thing that makes you feel the most feminine, and why?

Gonna pass on this one. Not sure how to answer it without sounding weird!

Many of your novels fall under the genre CHICK LIT. Is this your niche? Do you plan to venture into other genres?

I started out in romance, but my writing voice has always been colloquial and hip, I'd like to think. And I enjoy creating quirky characters. I incorporated humor into my St. Martin's Press releases. I've always been drawn to flawed heroines, who feel more like real people. These days, I'm *not* chucking romance completely, but I think chick lit might be a better fit for me. Just wished I'd realized this sooner. But I'd also like to do straight women's fiction/family drama.

I'm no prude and I'm not all that conservative. I have written hot love scenes in the past, but there seems to be a growing emphasis on hot/sex/hot/sex/hot/sex/hot/hot/ butt-nekkid/sweaty/explicit sex in fiction. I'll only go so far in my books, but it seems the envelope keeps getting pushed. I'm just not that interested in trying to keep up so hopefully there are still enough people out there who want to read a decent story with interesting characters that doesn't come pre-packaged with an orgasm. :-O

You have very eclectic taste in recording artists, actresses, hunky actors, etc. For example, your favorite recording artists run from Beyonce to Tears for Fears, and hunky actors go from Shemar Moore to Paul Walker. What do you credit for your varied tastes?

Hmmm, I'm hard to pin down. I just like what I like and what I like is all over the freakin' map :-). I got exposed to a lot of different people and things at a young age.

Though you are African American, though your novels do feature African American main characters, your books have a very multicultural feel to them as if anyone and everyone can and should pick them up and enjoy. Do you think your eclectic tastes help in writing your novels?

Yeah. I'm very much into trends/pop culture. That was my newspaper beat at one time, too. I try to incorporate lots of references to what's hot and happenin' now and a lot of that transcends race because there's been a blurring of what's considered "black" and "white". I mean, look who is buying rap these days. My own music collection includes Tupac/Nelly and Clay Aiken (from American Idol).

If you had three pieces of advice for the aspiring-to-be PUBLISHED author, what would they be?

*Write what you love.

*Try not to become too obsessed with the market, but be familiar with the market.

*Study your craft as much as possible. Stay hungry and always try to improve. Try to read at least one good writing craft book (on plotting, characterization etc.) a month.

Check out Reon's website: http://www.reonlaudat.com!

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Falling Apart

I may be in my early-30s, but over the last week or two, I have felt every bit of a 100. First, my foot and leg were acting up, and now my back. Luckily, the pain in my foot has subsided, but I fear it's because my back is now driving me nuts. I hurt my back when I was 16 and since, I get really bad back pains and stiffening up that can last several days. This is day 2. If it's still bothering me tomorrow, I am going to get some medical help. Been taking meds and having my sister rub stinky cream on my back. Nothing seems to be working.

Alas. I couldn't lay in my bed a minute longer. I'm propped up in a chair by pillows and occasionally, I have to call on my sister or one of my brothers (who are finally here in LA and staying with me for the time being) to help me up or get something for me.

I'm telling you, we really do take for granted walking and moving around on our own--at least I know I did. I won't anymore.

While I'm unable to run around, I'm at the computer getting work done.

I haven't touched my NANOWRIMO novel yet. I'll take a few days more away from it and get some notes and ideas down of how I'd like to revise it, and then I'll tackle.

Back to school stuff. Yours in bad backs and swollen feet, :-)