25 Years

Today I was recognized at the university for 25 years of service.

It’s an odd feeling to realize that it didn’t seem too long ago. As my memory always works, there are a handful of snapshots I can bring to mind, with little recall of when they happened except that they happened here at Northwest Missouri State University and I was younger then.

I have survived financial exigency and the loss of the Family and Consumer Sciences department, a bipolar diagnosis, several budget cuts, many boring meetings, a couple ice storms, and the football team not making playoffs. I have experienced the university’s centennial, six national championships for the football team, the world’s shortest St. Patrick’s Day parade, and gratitude for all the people I have known here.

Eventually I will retire. But not right away; I’ll make it to my 30-year recognition.

Author Fair

My local library is going to have an Author Fair this weekend, and I will be there. In fact, I will read an excerpt from one of the Kringle romances; I still haven’t figured out which. I’m tempted to read from It Takes Two to Kringle. In this scene, a beleaguered junior faculty member discovers that the attractive man who treated her to coffee is a Christmas fanatic who will create extra tasks for her. I’m going to have to figure this out by Saturday morning.

Author fairs are unnerving. I have never sold over three books at an author fair, because I’m an indie writer and my novels are quirky. My male leads are college professors, professional Santas, and pacifist warriors. My female leads are college professors, accountants, and former labor organizers. The immortals are not elves or angels, although they’ve been mistaken for both.

So I sit there and watch people walk by, and sometimes they stop and peruse. Sometimes I get to answer questions, and I feel like anyone could answer these questions better than me. But despite my impostor syndrome, I enjoy getting questions. I just wish I was more articulate on the “summarize the plot” questions.

So I’ll be setting up Saturday morning for a two-hour session with my books and my table trappings. Wish me luck!

Christmas Cheer is Postponed

The nature of being faculty is that fall semester ends in the middle of the Christmas season. That means that, while others are playing Whamageddon, I’m grading two major papers and three essay exams. Plus doing those end-of-semester things like filling out paperwork and fielding student questions (some of which would be answered if they read the syllabus). I’m single-minded and all I can think about is getting through finals week. I still have the three essay exams to grade and one exam to write.

I’m sitting in Starbucks looking at festive cups in green and red and — pink? I feel like that cup; something’s distracting me from being merry. Probably the three essay exams and one to write.

After finals (next Friday), I’m free for three weeks. I have to do a little research and set up my classes for next semester, but that’s on my time and in a place of my choice. The thing, though, is the change of pace, the ability to rest my mind and let go of the semester.

And, of course, taking the time to pay attention to the season, with its lights and tinsel and classic Christmas movies like Hogfather. I will get there. It’s less than a week away.

A Few Minutes to Think

I’ve had a few minutes to think between final project grading and final exams, so I’ll share my thoughts:

I don’t believe in “manifesting”. God is not an ATM. But just in case I’m wrong, you’ve heard it here first: I want my niche to discover my writing. I want an engaged group of readers who can identify with the small magics of Barn Swallows’ Dance and the power of InterSpace.
On being 60: I have to accept that I’m now reminding my students of their grandmas rather than their mothers. It’s a shock to the system; I don’t feel that old. Moreover, I think it’s affecting my ability to write romance, because I’m not getting those looks anymore. You know, THOSE looks. (Not lustful, but playful. That’s just how I roll.) It’s not bothering me; it’s just weird, like I’ve lost a color in my vision (say magenta) and I barely remember having it.
If I didn’t have a third item in this list, you would feel vaguely dissatisfied. That’s because three is a magic number. It’s not universally magic, but in a list, we feel satisfied when there’s a third item. Two becomes magic because of its connection to ‘either … or’. And couples, of course.

That’s enough. It’s time for me to write for a while. But first, a cat:

Thanksgiving

I like the idea of a festival to celebrate giving thanks. I don’t like the mythology of Thanksgiving so much — the white savior narrative, the lack of acknowledgement of the genocide of the Native Americans after that.

I like stuffing and mashed potatoes. I‘m not so fond of turkey. Turkey wasn’t even part of the original Thanksgiving (venison and fish were). Turkey is very dry unless you deep-fry it.

I like the fact that Starbucks is open, and the youngsters running the place are a bit silly today. One keeps doing bird calls for reasons I don’t understand.

I like being off work!

I Don’t Know What I Want for Christmas

I think this is my official announcement that I am getting old — I don’t know what I want for Christmas.

Given that “to be thin” isn’t a possible Christmas gift, I don’t know what’s left. I don’t feel a need for anything in my life. I have upgraded all my electronics except my computer (mostly with my own “mad funds”). I’m not in the market for anything small (like fountain pens; I found the fountain pen I like and need no more). I don’t wear jewelry. The only thing I need is a new computer, and the household doesn’t have the money to buy that as a present. The only thing I want is a squishmallow.

This is strange. My husband doesn’t want anything for Christmas either. I guess we’re both getting old.

The NaNoWriMo Controversy

I’m slow on the uptake, living in my own world where I write, teach, grade, and look at pictures of cats. But today on Reddit, I saw something that shocked me out of complacency and made me start to take a look at NaNoWriMo.

Apparently, a moderator of the Young Writers Program at NaNo was steering some of the young writers toward a diaper fetish website. This is clearly grooming and thus abuse. This, however, might not reflect on the NaNo organization — except that they did nothing about it initially and, when they did, allowed the perpetrator to remain on the forums. NaNo needed to safeguard children and failed.

This brings me to the question: How will I respond to this? I feel I must boycott, but it’s difficult because I have been involved in NaNo for 9 years. I don’t know how to boycott an entity that is free and won’t even know I’m boycotting. But I am thinking of how to vote against brushing a serious problem under the rug.

In the Middle of Writing

Sorry I haven’t written! I am still caught up (and barely caught up) on NaNoWriMo, with 14,000 words left to write.

I finished editing Avatar of the Maker and, having nothing better to do, started a new novel in the Archetype series, Carrying Light.

Sage Bertinelli has been summoned by her Aunt Jeanne back to Barn Swallows’ Dance. When Sage arrives, she finds the collective, Tree-gifted and weary, debating how they will answer the twilight of the life they have known.

Forrest Gray, half-immortal, wants Sage to shelter in the safety of the collective. She, on the other hand, wants to go out into the changed world — and away from her turmoil. The two must look within and without to find the answers.

I didn’t think I would write another book so quickly after Avatar of the Maker, but NaNo calls.

Motivators

Sometimes motivators help us through dark creative doldrums.

I made some graphics for advertising Gaia’s Hands and Apocalypse, which I advertise on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook Pages. The graphics are based on the book covers and feature the impressive art of my niece Rachel.

I took the graphics and enlarged them to poster size and had them printed through Canva. They are now framed and ready to hang in my office over my desk.

The posters look professional and will save me through many moments of impostor syndrome.

Busy doing NaNo

I’m sorry I haven’t written lately. I have been busy doing NaNoWriMo, and it’s been a wild time. I’ve finished editing Avatar of the Maker, although I will revisit it later when it’s fresh. But I have 23,000 words left to write (or the editing equivalent) to win NaNo. So what am I going to do?

I’m going to lay out another novel in the Archetype universe, tentative title “Carrying Light“. This one takes place ten years after Avatar of the Maker, when the social and economic structures of the US are crumbling. The end of the novel In fact, the first battle in the collapse of the US and the beginning of Whose Hearts are Mountains. So think of it as the prequel to that.

Writing it will be interesting, because one of the main characters is Richard’s. He has a sequel to Gaia’s Hands called Gaia’s Future that needs some editing, and Sage Bertinelli is his main character.

I have a lot of work to do, but it’s fun work. Whee!