Simple Pleasures

I'm back from Atlanta, safe and sound and very happy to be home.

The conference was incredible and somewhat overwhelming. There was a lot of information to be had, networking to be done, and people to talk to. Even though I was there a day early, it still felt like I didn't get a chance to talk to my good friends as much as I'd have liked to.

I will blog about my adventures, and provided my buds send me their pictures, I'll even have some photos to share. (Yes Dorine, I know I should have been taking pictures, but my camera sucks.) But before I regale you with tales about my trip I have a little reflection I want to share with you.

When I woke up this morning, it felt so good to be in my own bed, with a clock that I could read with my near-blind contact-less vision. I got up and got breakfast for my kids then went outside to empty the garbage. On the way back in, I weeded my flowerbeds a bit and noticed the changes that happened over the week I was gone.

It occurred to me then how much I missed getting my hands dirty. I checked my email and I realized how much I missed having a computer at my disposal. I walked my older girls to camp and realized how much I missed being able to walk down the street comfortably with my hair a mess, no makeup, glasses on and no bra without worrying about running into an agent/editor/publisher that I wanted to speak to.

I love going to conferences. I'm a total extrovert and love, love, love hanging around with other writers and talking and laughing and drinking. I love learning about my craft and doing research and seeing friends I only get to see once or twice a year. I also love meeting new people and making new friends.

Usually, I have a period of let down once I come home. An emotional hangover, if you will. I miss my friends desperately and feel isolated in a world of non-writers who just don't get me. I'm sure that will come, probably as I'm catching up on all the laundry and housework that didn't get done the week I was away, but I'm so glad to be home.

Maybe I'm finally figuring out that I have everything I need to be happy, I just need to appreciate it more.

Ari

Early Celebration!

Okay, so I'm celebrating a bit early, but I can't help it! I'm so excited!!! I'm leaving for Atlanta on Sunday so I probably won't have much time to blog before I go, therefore I'm blogging about SPITFIRE early.

See, my baby comes out on Tuesday the 25th and I'll be at RWA in Atlanta so I won't be able to scream and cheer and jump up and down about it on its release day.

This was such a fun story for me to write, during a not so fun time in my life. If you haven't guessed, I'm all about escapism, and this book really provided it for me. I was able to lose myself in car chases and gun fights and not think about all the craziness going on in my life.

I really hope when people read it, they can escape for a while too.

What do you do for escapism?

Spoiled!

I think I've gotten spoiled. Not only that, I think I've spoiled my children as well.
What brought on this epiphany you ask? The air conditioning broke in my car on Friday.

We in the northeast are experiencing a heatwave right now. It is disgustingly hot and humid and riding in a black car with no air is miserable. I'm whining, the kids are whining, and we're all hot and sticky.

Now, I can remember when I was maybe 7 or 8 riding in the back of my parents' Toyota station wagaon, in the way back mind you, all the way from CT to Missouri with NO AIR CONDITIONING! The cars didn't even have it then. I was crammed into the car, with black vinal seats, along with my two sisters for a 20+ hour ride. There were no DVDs in the back or Game Boys or anything else, just the license plate game and poking at your sister until mom screamed for entertainment.

Have we gotten soft? Is the fact that I did as many errands as I could early this morning without the children a sign that I can't handle the same difficulties as my mother?

You betcha!

I made an appointment for the car to go in on Wednesday even though I don't get paid until Friday and I leave Sunday for Atlanta. If I could have gotten it done today I would have. . .

Stay cool!
Ari

Not a fashion trend!

I feel the need to vent. A lot.
Maybe I'm just grouchy from the heat and humidity, or maybe I'm just a little annoyed because I'm running around like a lunatic, but something today seriously pissed me off.

I was loading my millions of dollars of groceries onto the little conveyer belt and I spotted a tabloid with the title (this isn't exact)
The Bump Watch.
Motherhood, the new Hollywood trend.

MOTHERHOOD IS NOT A FASHION TREND!!!!

I don't necessarily believe that you have to be married to have children, although I do think it helps, but creating a life is not something you do because it's fashionable!!!!

I have three daughters whom I love more than life itself. Even when they make me want to pull my hair out, I'd still walk through fire for them. Having children was something my husband and I talked about and thought about and considered at great length--and we still weren't prepared!

I hope the tabloid was just making a splashy headline and getting pregnant isn't the next "in" thing for the rich and famous. If it is, I hope to God there is someone there for those children when it's no longer fashionable. . .

Relaxation

I am trying hard to find new ways to relax. My personality doesn't lend itself easily to relaxation. I tend to be in a state of constant motion unless I'm hanging out with friends or reading a book.

I do read a lot of books, but that's not my point, hahaha.

I've been somewhat stressed trying to juggle all my responsibilities and still be nice to my family. In order to sooth my whirling thoughts, I've surrounded myself with peaceful things. I have plants and fairy pictures and candles and a Zen garden around my work area. And I just bought some guppies.

I love my little guppies. My husband has a huge fish tank, and the girls each got small ones for their recital present, but no one wanted to buy guppies. So, I bought them myself. And the little guys really make me laugh. I love to watch them in their little tank , especially at feeding time.

I don't know if they're helping me slow down at all, but I'm enjoying them nonetheless.

What do you do to relax? Does it work?

Collective Mind?

Do you ever wonder if humanity has a collective mind or subconscious? I know Karl Jung thought of it first, but sometimes I really think he was on to something. I read a lot of books. I mean, a LOT. I try not to read books in the same genre that I'm writing at the time because I don't want to take any chances that something I read might influence me even unconsciously.

When I'm done writing the book whether it's romantic suspense, science fiction, or fantasy, I usually devour books that I've been denying myself in that genre.

And the scary thing is, on more than one occasion I've noticed that a thought or theme or name or experience that I've just written about pops up in several different books that I've read. EEEKKK!!! I'm terrified one of these days that someone is going to think I ripped them off when I was just tapped into the same part of the collective brain.

Case in point. A few years ago I used to spend a lot of time on the eHarlequin message boards. There was a woman there who I became friendly with named Marley. I asked her if I could use her name for one of my characters. She said sure so I wrote A MAN FOR MARLEY. This was back in 2004. Now, there are Marleys everywhere you look! Craziness, I tell you!

So, if anyone who has read one of my books and thinks I stole from them, I swear I haven't, ahahahah

Okay, my computer is on the fritz and I can barely see the screen any more so I'm goint to end this now. Have a great weekend everyone!
Ari

How do they do it?

I have gone back to work for the summer. I'm actually working more hours for summer school than I do at my regular job. And damn it, it's HARD!! I'm behind on EVERYTHING.

How do some women work full time ALL YEAR LONG, take care of families, and write? I just can't figure it out. They must go without sleep. I thought I did a lot working part-time, writing, and taking care of three kids, but going back to work showed me just how much I really do.

On another note, my flower gardens are coming along nicely, I really enjoy seeing the new blumes and colors. We're getting 4 yards of mulch on Saturday and I'll be moving most of it around the yard since I bullied my husband into buying it. If you don't hear from me for a while it's because I'm too sore to type, hahahaha.

Oh, and did I mention I have poison ivy again? ON MY FAECE THIS TIME!!! The RWA conference is in 2 1/2 weeks, I'm totally not prepared, and now I have poison ivy all over my chin and cheeks. Can someone sedate me for a week or two?

No, wait, I still have too much to do, nevermind.

Hope everyone had a nice July 4th and the summer weather is being kind to you!
Ari