Sonia does her best to be late for 1st conference gig

This past Saturday, I was the first speaker at the SCBWI OK Fall Conference. The presentation went just fine, but getting there was a comedy of errors.

First of all, I didn't sleep well the night before -- partly because I was nervous about speaking, but mostly because I continued to obsess about the disturbing bits in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (which we'd just watched, and which I'm starting to think was better than the book) long into the wee hours.

So I woke puffy-eyed and exhausted, dragging around until I was fifteen minutes late leaving, but I still had plenty of time to make it to Chandler, Oklahoma. Except -- my gas tank was nearly empty! So I lost more time filling it. Then I remembered that I didn't have a cent on me for the turnpike. So I got cash. But a twenty dollar bill was no good, so I had to break it at Starbucks. Finally, I'm on the road again and, now that the sun has crossed the horizon, it occurs to me that I don't have my sunglasses. ARGH! (My photosensitivity has reached nearly vampiric levels, so I've GOTTA have sunglasses. Even when it's cloudy.) Fortunately, I had a spare pair in the glove box, but they were crappy and uncomfortable. Still, I'm finally on the interstate and moving in the right direction.

My GPS is telling me what to do, because I don't even trust myself with Mapquest anymore. I'm driving along, la la la, and all of a sudden I realize I'm passing the turnpike. The GPS forgot to tell me to take it! But I keep driving, thinking maybe it knows a better way to access the turnpike. Instead, it takes me to Route 66 -- yes, that famous TWO-lane highway -- and tells me to take that to Chandler. DOUBLE ARGH! (It occurred to me later that I'd adjusted the GPS settings to avoid toll roads. Well done, Sonia.)

As it turned out, Route 66 was pretty cool. And because I didn't get stuck behind a grandpa on a tractor, I still made it with 15 minutes to spare.

And then my computer would not cooperate with the LCD projector. *sigh*

But we got that sorted (thanks to Tammi Sauer's thumbdrive and Darlene Bailey Beard's netbook), and I was able to start my presentation on time. Everyone was wonderfully polite and cooperative, and I had a great time. My thanks go out once again to the Elevensies who offered their successful queries for my presentation. *hugs*

The rest of the conference was brilliant. Pati Hailey led us through some relaxation exercises before asking us to do some writing. I ended up brainstorming character motivation details that I'd been ignoring for too long. And then Joni Sensel's fabulous Fantasy intensive helped me to write two scenes and brainstorm a different character's motivations. Such a productive day. Thank you Anna Myers, Pati Hailey and all the staff and speakers at Oklahoma SCBWI for a great day!

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

Friday Five of Fun and Magic

1. In case you didn't see me EXCLAIMING ABOUT IT all over the place yesterday (like a crazy fool), I finally got permission to share my cover for THE REVENANT. Here it is. Thanks for celebrating with me!

2. Tomorrow I will be sharing tips on getting an agent at the Oklahoma SCBWI Fall conference. If you're reading this and you attended my "Schmooze" talk on the same topic a few months ago, I will have new material. Oh, and big thanks go out to the Elevensies who donated their queries for my presentation. *smooch*

3. I needed a little extra magic for my presentation, so yesterday I went on the hunt for a new pair of shoes to jazz up my look. So many ladies have been working the red shoes lately that I had to get my own pair. Here they are. And here's an an action shot, so to speak. They're slightly old-ladyish, but also foxy. Silver-foxy?

4. Speaking of magic, I am listening to Sara Bareilles' new CD Kaleidoscope Heart. She is my #1 girl-crush! Would love to see her in concert again, but I'm afraid Steve would stow away on her tour bus and I'd never see him again.

5. Even more magic: I love this interview of L.K. Madigan by Jaclyn Dolamore. Lots of Mermaid-y goodness AND a giveaway. Please do go check it out -- you might win something fabulous. And don't forget that L.K.'s The Mermaid's Mirror will be released on October 4th!

Happy weekend, everyone!

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

I FINALLY CAN SHARE MY COVER!

Click here for larger version.

Learn more about the book here.

This Photobucket version looks a tad fuzzy. And keep in mind that it will be tweaked -- at the very least they still need to add the tagline -- but this is the "approved" design!

My pub date is June 14, 2011. Please write this on your calendar 'cause we are going to PARTY! ;)

Anyway . . . watcha think?

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

Friday Five -- Writing

In an effort to be less random on Fridays, this week's five are all somewhat related to writing. (I haven't used my "writing" tag in over two months. Eeek!)

1. Earlier this week, Nova Ren Suma tweeted about this amazing month-long writing retreat in a Scottish castle! Pictures like these bring to mind one of my favorite books, The Keep, and make me think of spooky things that might happen during a writing retreat at a remote location (à la The Ghost Orchid). I have to admit that, even though the idea of this retreat is so seductive, the reality is that I'd probably be too spooked to get anything written! (I LOVE ghostly books and movies. But a real-life haunted castle -- and I'm already imagining Hawthornden to be downright filthy with ghosts -- might drive me straight to Looneyville. (Not that I would ever be selected for this retreat.)

2. Good thing there are plenty of other retreats that are closer and considerably less gothic. Kindling Words, for instance. Doesn't that look cozy? Kate Messner recommended it, and I do believe I'll be putting my name in for the lottery. Any other retreats to recommend?

3. Speaking of Kate, I met her on Wednesday! She was in town on a special research mission (oooh!) and fortunately had time for a chat at Starbucks. I had such a great time talking books and writing with Kate, and I was so inspired by her positive attitude, boundless creativity, and amazing work ethic. Yay!

4. As far as my own writing progess, I'm pleased to report that I've finally reached the 50k mark with the latest ms (the one I was supposed to have drafted before I left for Oxford. *sigh*). The sagging middle was determined to suck me into its vortex, but I finally realized that if I just relaxed my white-knuckled grip on the outline and kept writing, I would eventually escape the sag's gravitational pull. (Which may sound counterintuitive, because you'd think a sagging middle would require more structure, but I think I just needed a slightly different structure.)

5. And on that note, I give you an updated progress bar. (Haven't posted one of these since May 19th. Oh, the shame!) I plan to turn this sucker into a straight blue line by the end of the month. Hold me to it!

50073 / 70000 words. 72% done!

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

Superhorse!

I've been seeing this poster all over the place lately. And everytime I look at it, my eyes prickle with tears. I couldn't even explain to Steve without choking up.

You see, Secretariat was my first love.

I was wee, but I still have very vivid memories of jumping up and down and screaming with my mom as Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths, becoming the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years. (We weren't actually there, however. We watched on TV in California. Here's the film of the race -- it never fails to give me chills.)

I begged my mom to take me to Claiborne Farm so I could meet Secretariat. I just assumed the grooms would be happy to let me ride him. Unfortunately, Claiborne was closed to the public at that time, but I did visit Spendthrift Farm. (I did see Nashua, who was quite old. Unlike Secretariat, he lived to the ripe old age of 30.)

I obsessively followed Secretariat's children as they tried to repeat his success -- Lady's Secret, Risen Star, General Assembly, etc. He turned out to be much better at siring broodmares than stakeswinning racehorses, however. (I like to think of him as a doting grandpa!)

And when he died? I was so shocked I couldn't even cry.

The film may be more about Penny Chenery than Secretariat, but that's okay. Her story is amazing, too. See the trailer here.

Any other Secretariat fans out there? Other equine/non-human first loves? Do share!

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]