Two-Minute Mothers Day Post
First, of all, I hope you took time to honor all the mothers in your life. If you live in the US, where it was Mothers Day, or not.
Second, I hope you took time to honor all others who get short shrift this day: those who couldn’t be mothers, those who were but aren’t, those who chose and choose not to be in spite of tremendous societal pressure, single dads, dad-dad families, and anyone else this day. There are many ways to mother, and those whose title it is don’t even always do a good job at it, so we should honor ALL.
Third of all, I’m now up to 4 minutes, and haven’t even written about the lovely day I had yesterday: eggs Florentine and my favorite draft root beer for brunch, browsed at 2 shops full of pretty, shiny things, and got a necklace and earrings. Got a double of passionfruit sorbet and chocolate/amaretto ice cream at my favorite shop, then a macchiato at a new coffee shop, then a nap, then played catch with 7yo Drake and practiced 2-wheeling on his bike with Guppy. Read my book. Went to bed.
I am so, so fortunate and I wish love to you all.
May 11th, 2011 at 1:12 pm
Hi there! So . . . this is kind of funny. I just reread Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld because I’m writing a novel now that will have a similar structure though a completely different plot (it’s not about a prep school and it will take place over a year, not four.)
Anyway, via Google I was trying to figure out how Sittenfeld got away with the adult category and not YA, when I stumbled upon MY OWN comment on YOUR blog from 2005!! http://www.girldetective.net/?p=245 I used to read your blog all the time. I’m not sure when/why I stopped. Did you stop blogging at some point and then start again? I loved reading my note to you saying that I liked the idea of writing but had not taken it seriously. Fast forward a few years, and in January 2007 I finally did start taking it seriously. I haven’t had any success with novels yet, but I’ve had several short stories published and I was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. I still live in the Twin Cities too–in the same house from where I wrote that comment while my only child was sleeping . . . now expecting baby #4. It’s crazy how much changes in a short time.
I started my own blog six months ago. I hope you’ll check it out. http://ninabadzin.com Also–are you on Twitter??? It’s the easiest way for me to keep up with the blogs I love. I’m back in touch with yours and plan to stick around.
Have a great day! Nina
May 12th, 2011 at 8:41 am
Nina, what a joy to see your comment this morning! I’ve never stopped blogging, but there have definitely been some lags. My guess is that Sittenfeld got away with the adult marketing because I think she was already working for the NYT as an essayist, hence the non-surprise of her positive reviews from there. Lovely Bones is probably the most famous and successful novel that was pitched as YA but marketed and sold as “grownup.” I recently read and really enjoyed local author Peter Bognanni’s “House of Tomorrow,” which is also a novel about a teen aimed for all markets. The Alex awards are a good source for other similar books, if you’re looking for ideas and context. Congratulations on the success of your short stories! I put the novel(s) I was editing on hold when my younger was about 1.5, and said I’d get back to them when he went to Kindergarten, which starts this fall. Contrary to conventional small talk, the time has NOT flown, but I’m pleased to be within a few months of it! Since then I’ve branched out into writing about food and wellness for a site called Simple Good and Tasty, and for my co-op, the Eastside. Speaking of, I need to finish an article and stop chatting! My latest article at SGT is here: http://simplegoodandtasty.com/2011/05/04/feeding-the-family-spring-asparagus-recipes. I am on FB, but deliberately not Twitter. I’m too ADD for that, and wouldn’t get ANYTHING done. I keep up with my sites using the Google reader, which I find very user friendly.