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Recharged

I haven't logged in many barefoot runs lately. One on Thanksgiving that got me all the way around the temple before my feet went numb. One two  days ago, late morning, when the sun was up and the frost had mostly thawed the grass in the drainage basin. Two times around the bowl before I couldn't feel  my feet. Perfect. What those two barefoot days reminded me: how little we feel of the world most of the time. How much we miss, walking around with our shoes on. "The soil is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod." That's Gerard Manley Hopkins. Too bad a barefoot run was out of the question today. I put on wool socks and my "barefoot" shoes and a hat and gloves and took Andrei the Giant up the mountain--next best thing to going barefoot. The dog agrees. The fog made everything look so ethereal: hoar frost sprouting from each blade of long grass, each branch of scrub oak, and the cloud sitting low on the rocks jagging up the ravine.  Tried to take a

Finding a Rhythm

Sometimes your rhythms are off. Sometimes when your normal rhythms falter, you look around for new ones, and you find something works in a way you weren't expecting. I woke up this morning and was not feeling it. Went to bed late. Woke up late. Drank green smoothie. Drove kids to school. Didn't exercise. Sat on couch with computer instead. Decided to try out Stephen King's writing schedule and ended up writing from eight to ten, ate a snack, wrote some more. Took a nap, wrote some more. I don't think nap was part of Stephen King's schedule. Felt good about the writing. Felt kind of gross about everything else. Stephen King writes until noon, then goes for a walk. So at 12:30 I went for a run with the dog. Dog was sluggish. I was sluggish. Couldn't fall into a rhythm. Dumped the route and went to the park where I took off my shoes and ran barefoot with dog. Andre was tired after one lap. I squished around in the grass and finally found my beat. Kept my

Bread-writing

Today I am writing by making bread. I haven't made bread in a long time. Maybe a year. It's cold and dark outside, so I built a fire in my wood-burning stove, and then I made bread dough. It's rising. Meanwhile, I've figured out all kinds of things for my novel that I will soon write down. You think I'm dodging actual writing? Ha. Doubters. I'm getting ever so much done in my head. Really. And I will have hot bread to eat while I get it all out on electronic paper. Mmm. Come by. We'll have a bread-eating novel-writing party.

Going Barefoot

Here's a story about going barefoot. Not Going Barefoot, as in my novel. Going barefoot, as in my life. As in, no arc. No actual ending. Just my bare feet. Running. Do people really get this far off the ground when they run barefoot? Some of you have heard (and if you're my family are probably sick of) my rant about how my chronic knee and plantar fasciitis trouble healed when I zeroed out my running shoes and started running barefoot in the grass at the park. I realized I run very differently when barefoot, so I started trying to mimic that upright, butt-kicking, ultra-bent-knee style every time I ran in shoes, too.  My favorite shoes: New Balance Minimus. Second favorite: Vibram Five Fingers. Both of which have zero padding and are only a couple steps beyond barefoot. I mostly run in shoes because I'm scared of that crud always lurking on the side of the road, like to save barefoot running for the grass. Love splashing through that spongy, soggy, just-watered gra

Write for the Fire

Fall in love and stay in love. Write only what you love, and love what you write. The key word is love. You have to get up in the morning and write something you love, something to live for.                                         --Ray Bradbury                             I read this quote on Ann Dee Ellis's blog today and  it was like getting hit in the head with a pine cone. Ray Bradbury is a hero of mine. He graduated from the library instead of college. He writes original, inimitable stuff. a pine cone I started writing because I loved it. I loved it so much I could write myself out of a depression, and that's a big deal. I was totally in love. me, in love I didn't know what I was doing. A lot of what I wrote was buffalo chips, destined for the fire. But I was having too much fun to care.   a buffalo chip Am I still in love with writing? Yes. A lot of what I write is still chippy and fire-bound, only now I'm a little more aware of when

Writers Write, Billy

I know tons of people who want to write a book.  Maybe it was the easy success of She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named with those vampire books, but at least three people within a couple of blocks of my house all say they're writing books.  So when my son came home one day and said, oh, by the way, so-and-so from work is writing a book about a boy who grew up in Needles, California, my husband announced, "Everybody is writing a book. I'm going to write one."  And he made one up on the spot, about a kid who grew up in Needles, California. My kids quote the entire thing on a regular basis, which isn't hard, because it's really short. Here it is: "It sure is hot out here," said Billy, as he looked across the barren wasteland that he called home. "Mom, can I have a cookie?"  "Sure, Honey, it's the least I can do since we live in such a crappy place," she said, wondering why she'd ever married a man who would move to a place

July: Transformed into a Barefoot, Bearded, Green-smoothie-drinking Rain-cloud. Or Something.

Time has a way of evaporating sometimes. It has nothing to do with fun. It just disappears, like steam. I guess that's what happened to July, because somehow today is the second Tuesday in August, and a whole month is gone, and I don't know how it happened. The sun came out and, poof! I wasn't writing. Riding, yes. Finally fixed my bike. But writing? Not on the new novel. Obviously not blog posts. Letters either. Both my sisters are probably mad at me. Here's what I remember: *We lost the dog and chased him down.  *Worked hours in garden , which is growing like green demons.  *Hiked mountains .  *It poured rain every afternoon. In Utah. Where the total rainfall is 15 inches a year. *I injured my Achilles and rehabilitated it. Didn't see doctor.  *Read book on barefoot running . *Read book on plot because I was mired in mine. Think I found my way out.  * Ran barefoot with dog and kids in squishy park grass.  * Experiment A : drank one quart gree

June Book Winner

Hey, all. Time for our June blog book give-away drawing. I'm using my uber-high-tech method of randomly selecting a name that I've scrawled on a folded orange sticky note and thrown in a cereal bowl, along with a lot of other orange folded sticky notes. uber-high-tech selection process I close my eyes, reach in, unfold the paper... And the winner is Jamie ! You get a free book! Email me your physical address and I'll get Leviathan in the mail right away. Everyone else, head to the library right now and get yourself a copy. Unless you happen to be my sister, and you happen to live in Brazil or Fiji, and summer happens to be winter where you live, and books in English are harder to come by than they ought to be, in which case I might send you a copy anyway. Happy reading!

Reading still makes you sexier and one more day to enter free book drawing

Perhaps you didn't believe me when I said that reading can make you sexier . Or skinnier , especially if you didn't click on the link in the last post, but it's true. Young girls who read a book about an overweight girl who made positive life-style changes had a reduced Body Mass Index after six months, compared to a control group, whose BMI increased. See how skinny she's getting? See the stack of books she's reading? Literature can be powerful, have I mentioned that before? Even though the book sounded utterly BORING. Which, I guess, suggests reading could also make you fatter if you read an equally boring book that promoted unhealthy lifestyles. Or you could read an interesting book and perhaps magically loose weight anyway. Because the authors of the study didn't use a second control group of girls who read a very exciting book that had nothing whatsoever to do with weight loss and compare their weight at the end of the study. So maybe it really was

Reading makes you sexier, and a free book for June

Summer Solstice was yesterday and the weather here in the Wasatch mountains is finally not cool or wet. Which reminded me that my favorite thing about summer is books. Which are also my favorite thing about spring. And winter. And fall. But especially summer, because you can read what you feel like (instead of what your teacher tells you) and you can read in the grass, or in the tree-house, or up the mountain, or on the beach, or at the pool... And I've read some great books this year, so I have some recommendations for all y'all's summer reading lists. In fact, I think it's time for a freebie . I've been enjoying steam punk lately. Maybe you've read Leviathan , by Scott Westerfeld? And the sequel, Behemoth . If you haven't, you're missing a fabulous series. Although just when you're really getting into the story, you'll realize it's not done, and the next book doesn't come out until fall. How rude. The world of Leviathan is an al

LargeThings: Cups and Cockroaches

I spent the weekend in New Mexico at the Great Southwest Track and Field Meet. Albuquerque was hot. And smoky, thanks to a huge Arizona fire that filled the place the night we got in. The city was also full of fast people with large muscles and zero-percent body fat running in the heat. Luckily, a hot wind blew away most of the smoke so the runners didn't die of smoke inhalation. My favorite part: water cups in Albuquerque are HUGE. Yes, huge. You know how if you go out for fast food or to a movie theater and ask for water, most places give you a leprechaun-sized styrofoam cup and if you complain they threaten to call the cops for suggesting something so outrageous as a full-sized drink of water? In Albuquerque, you get giant water cups. Humungous. With lids. And straws. And lots of ice. Which was great, because did I mention New Mexico is hot? My least favorite part: large cockroaches. Like  the one we found in a drawer in my hotel room. Nice and healthy-looking.

Loving the Path

I didn't set any New Year's Resolutions this year. Not one. I felt sort of guilty about that for awhile. Um, not that guilty. Not guilty enough to set any. I mean, I'm constantly evaluating myself and trying to do better. Maybe too much. And then I decided, maybe goals are overrated. Maybe I spend too much of my time looking forward, wishing, wanting, dissatisfied with myself and others, and not enough time savoring the moment. Beautiful Mt. Timpanogos. My favorite. When Robert Persig ( Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance ) pointed out that it's the sides of the mountain that count, not just the top, he wasn't just talking about hiking. Maybe that's what I haven't been doing in my life. Maybe I need to do what my neighbor does: wake up every morning, see the sun or the rain or the snow, and say, I am alive, and that's a gift. And just enjoy whatever the Universe dumps in my lap. Even when it looks like pig poo. Er, perhaps I don't

Cookie Apocalypse and Free Book Winner

the apocalypse Ok, so we're post apocalypse now, and still alive, even though we ate all but two of the cookies we made last night, which is sort of a disaster, since how are we going to decide who gets the last two? And also, my son's broken ipod is sitting next to the computer here and mewing. Yes, mewing. I don't know what that means, but it's bugging me.  But I think we're ok. And I still have a book to give away. So I wrote down a bunch of names on little scraps of paper and threw them in a bowl and drew one. Very random and scientific. And Amberly , you own a copy of Gary Schmidt's Okay for Now. The perfect not-actually-dystopian post-apocalyptic read. Congratulations! I'm ready to send it to you, so if you email me at ejjube at gmail dot com and let me know your address, I'll get it in the mail.  Thanks to all you new and old followers who entered the drawing. If you like free books, keep watching for another giveaway. I try to

End of the World and Last Day for Free Book

The world ends today. 6:00 pm, I think? So does my blog contest. Good thing I finished and sent off that book of mine this week. Whew. So, this is your last chance to enter to the drawing for Gary Schmidt's latest, if you haven't gotten around to it. Except I'm giving you a post-apocalyptic six extra hours (until midnight), if we're not all dead or translated or whatever. See post below for my review of the book and for contest details. I'll announce contest winners Sunday or Monday (if I'm feeling lazy), so be sure to check back then, anyone who still happens to be around. I mean, if Armageddon does come, the power will probably be out, and we'll have no T.V., so you'll want something good to read to get you through, right? Books and chocolate, everything's A-OK.

The Magic "Send" Button=Free Book for You

I did it. Finally pushed the magic "send" button on my computer. Yes, only three weeks later than I'd wanted. My verse novel is out of my hands and into my agent's and I'm going to have a life again. I'm going plant my garden. Going to exercise.Writing is so dang sedentary. Gained 10 freaking pounds writing this novel. Buy food (we're tired of nothing but cereal). Read Brideshead Revisited before next week's book group. Take care of the huge tax error the IRS thinks we made but didn't.  Attend my kids' dance showcase, State track meet, and sixth-grade graduation. Hang out with the fam. And of course, give away a free book . To you. To celebrated finishing my novel. All you have to do is enter my drawing. It's a great book: Okay for Now , by Newbery author Gary Schmidt. Wow. Such a great book. Perfect, actually. I have faith in literature again. Schmidt's two Newbery's were good. This one's better. I lo

Saving the World From Fantasy

My daughter's History teacher goes on a class-long rampage if a student mentions the word "Twilight." Not because she thinks the last book is somewhat sexually explicit for 13-year-olds, or because the romance is a tad over the top. She thinks Edward is "too perfect," which gives kids "an unrealistic view of the world." My daughter rolls her eyes as she tells me this. Er, by the way, did we forget Edward is a vampire? He sucks blood for dinner. Craves his girlfriend's blood. But no, the story isn't realistic. The genre is called Fantasy. Definitely not History. Sigh. Another fantasy-basher. I couldn't help thinking about the anti-fantasy proselyters that came to my door a couple of years ago. And since I'm still trying to finish up my novel to send off by the end of the month, I thought I'd rerun this post. *                    *                    *                   *                  * Here's a real-life story fo

I'm Fine.

I had a good marathon weekend before last. How about you? Met my goal: finished my shotgun phase of revisions; fixed all the piddly things I'd made notes to myself to fix and had been putting off for later; ready to print! in prep for the next phase of revisions. Then Spring break happened and 1. I broke my printer while printing out my book. *Note: that's not, "The printer broke," it's "I broke the printer," as in, I yanked out some already printed pieces of my book that were getting sucked back in and that's when I heard a crack. And then my printer wouldn't feed paper any more. And I had lost my receipt. And hadn't bothered to register my product when I bought it (who does that?). So they couldn't look it up. (Next time just tape the receipt and protection plan to the bottom of the printer, they told me. Duh. You idiot.) 2. So I had to go out and buy a freaking new one. Which was a downgrade that cost as much as the last nice

Writing Marathon Weekend

Hey, I'm doing a writing marathon this weekend. Decided...um, just this minute. I wish It was Carol Lynch Williams's and Ann Dee Ellis's idea, and they're throwing a dinner if you meet your goal, so consider dumping everything and joining the marathon. Here's the link that tells what you have to do. It's free, and you set your own rules/goals, so how can you lose? I'm doing this because I need a deadline.   An excuse not to cook dinner or clean my house for three days is always nice, too. Do I need an excuse? No. But it sounds slightly better than the usual: my mom's a writer so it always looks like this around here. My goals for the marathon: finish my current polishing-up run-through of my novel and go back and fix all bajillion things I made notes to myself to fix, so I'll be ready by Monday to print out my WIP for yet another run-through. Goals are good, but you don't have to do a writing marathon to have t

Hello, Spring!

Saturday: 74 degrees and the magnolias popped.  Today: my poor, frozen magnolias. And what's left of the daffodils. Hello, Spring! April's writing goal: to finish my Barefoot revisions and send them to Steve by the end of the month.

Acquainted with Night

It's 12:15 am and I'm drinking green smoothie and writing a blog post. Robert Frost fit my mood. Simple, elegant, eloquent. And depressing. Perfect. Acquainted with the Night  

How do you know when you're done with your book?

It's snowing again. But last week the weather was warm, and I put on my barefoot shoes and went for an almost-barefoot run in the park. Have I mentioned that running barefoot in the grass is Epiphany and Nirvana and Halleluia rolled into one?                                                        Aahh....Bare feet.                                       That's why I had to write a book about it. Which is still way too long.   People keep asking me (since the revisions go on and on, Judah), how do you know when you're done? That's a REALLY good question. The answer on the current book is: not yet. It's not like I know anything. I just write because I can't help it. But I can tell I'm NOT done if I'm not happy with these things: *Plot. Problems? Does everything build to a climax? Does everything connect? Loose ends? * Characters/character traits.  Do they talk in a way that a reader could recognize without dialogue tags? *End of chapte

Book Winner

Thanks everyone who entered the free book-drawing, and welcome to all my new followers! Wow, everyone wants to get their hands on The Clockwork Three . Of course. It's a great book. Even if you didn't get it free, you should go buy yourself a copy. As a little introduction if you're new to the blog, I am a fiction-writer in the process of shopping my stuff. I have an agent, so I let him do most of the work there, while I do the work of writing books. I love to read, love to write, love all things bookish. Here on the blog, I write about  the writing process, review books I liked, talk about the life of a writer, and try to give away a book a month. The drawings are small, so your chances of winning are always pretty good. My rules for give-aways: must be books I've read myself and loved, with great stories and beautiful sentences. They aren't always the hot sellers, but I swear they're worth your time. Because there are so many books out there. And so few

Time Running Out...

Only two more days to enter to win your free copy of Matthew Kirby's The Clockwork Three . Contest ends at midnight tomorrow. Check Monday for winner. See below for details.

Lucky You: Matthew Kirby's Clockwork Three

In honor of St. Patrick's Day and Irish luck, I'm giving away a free book today that has nothing to do with Ireland:  my friend, Matthew Kirby's  The Clockwork Three. If you haven't heard of Matt's debut novel, you're missing out on a fantastic middle-grade read. Released in October of last year, Clockwork is a wonderful adventure story with three main characters, three converging plots, an automaton that comes to life, boy-pleasing amounts of danger and - my favorite bit - a magical green violin. Kirby's book defies genre, but manages to weave elements of steampunk, historical fiction, fantasy, and mystery into one thoroughly satisfying, well-crafted book. My eleven-year-old son's simple review: "One of the best books I ever read." You'll want to read it, too. Check out the book trailer , if you like. I tried and failed to get the video to work on my blog (not too tech-savvy right here), so click on the purple/red link to watch on

Novel Update: Triage Mostly Over

I think I'm finally finished with what Dave Farland calls the "triage" phase of my novel revisions. You know, the part where you assess what drastic measures you need to save your story's life. The big stuff. Adding, chopping, sewing things together. Bloody. Painful. Satisfying. Now, onto the "shotgun" phase, where I shoot it all to pieces again. Why are Dave's metaphors so messy? I wipe my hands on my pants, hope the casualties aren't too great, and move on. Only six more phases to go.