The Divided Mind by J. Sarno

My DH and I are going to be at Norwescon 37. I hope we'll see a bunch of you there!

For once, I'm not overbooked. I'll have plenty of time to visit with folks. I expect I'll be spending a lot of time at the NIWA (Northwest Independent Writer's Association) table and possibly some time at barcon. I'm a bit of a foodie so if anyone has a suggestion for fantastic food around the SeaTac area, let me know.

Otherwise I'm assuming that I'm going to relax, do some writing, go to some panels, periodically sit in a hot tub, do some reading, and visit with friends.

Speaking of reading, I'm currently being blown away by "The Divided Mind" by John E. Sarno (which looks like Samo in the current font I'm seeing it ... see the whining in my last post for more rant-astastic information on this topic.) It explains a lot about the state of the physical and emotional health of, well, pretty much everyone in the western world right now. I firmly believe that not enough people get help for their mental and emotional problems and I think that this is in part because there's not a lot of quality care available, or maybe people just have trouble finding it or funding it.

I think a good indicator of whether or not a mental health specialist is worth the research, referral (if necessary,) time and expense is if they make things better within a finite period of time. And that may be what's going on with the majority of cases, but the public perception, or at least my perception and I don't think I'm alone, is that it takes years to work out your problems with your upbringing, and that puts the expense both in funding and time out of reach of just about everyone I know. What I like about this book is that the author addresses a problem and puts it in perspective. He then lays out a blueprint for how to deal with this problem, and what it's going to take. If all is as he presents it, then his methods are easily accessible, take a relatively short period of time to bring relief, and isn't going to rob you and your family of valuable resources forever. If the average person believed that this was what they could expect from a mental health program, I think most of them would sign up.

If. If they knew that the problems they're experiencing are mental rather than physical, and it seems that many of the problems we're facing, including lower back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, dare I suggest planar fasciitis, GERD, etc. may in fact be caused by a rather insidious mechanism triggered by the subconscious. It's actually been recorded and studied for over a hundred years. And yet psychosomatic illness is what happens to the other guy, or to the hypochondriac, not to, well, everyone. Really. It's, like, normal to have psychosomatic stuff going on. I should have figured this out. I had horrible dizzy spells that stopped me from going to school. No cause was ever found. And when I stopped going to school and we finished moving and things settled down, so did my dizzy spells.

Normal. It's not dumb, or a deficiency. It's a coping mechanism. And like a lot of coping mechanisms, sometimes it's worse than what it's trying to help us cope with or get through.

This book makes me happy. It's hard for me to contain my enthusiasm and delight. I feel I need to, though. I can't foist this on people who I think might need it. I can't wish stigmas away. If I could, then yes, I could go to people and say, oh, oh, you have to borrow this book from me and read it right away because it might help you! and they won't feel like I've just slapped them in the face and called them crazy and dumb and on top of it intruded into their private life.

Sometimes social stuff makes me crazy. Sometimes I really want to open my brain to someone else and let them see that all the things they might imagine that I believe about them isn't true. Sometimes I wish I could turn off the feeling that people assume things about me, because chances are they're thinking about the latest awesome You Tube video and don't give a crap about what I think about them. All that can help us be nice to each other and polite and kind and considerate, but it also can be an excuse to not say what we really want to say and it keeps us from telling the truth. Not the mean truth, but the scary truth, the real truth, the truth that exposes ourselves as much as it exposes the person we're speaking to.

Anyway, I'm only halfway through the book, but so far, I can definitely recommend it. The style is repetitive, but I suspect that's because the author is accustomed to disbelief and denial. Be prepared to be amazed.

Smashwords Promotion

To celebrate Read an E-Book Month, many Smashwords authors (including me) are offering special deals on their books. To get 75% off of House of Goats or Masks, enter the code REW75 (as far as I know this is case sensitive) before checkout! The coupon is only valid from March 4 (midnight tonight!) until 11:59pm on March 10th, 2012. I encourage you to visit Smashwords to see other great deals. I hear that there will be quite a few books offered for free!

Finished a Book, Wrote a Lot. Good Times.

I've been writing for most of the day.  This is a good thing, but it's physically demanding for someone who is accustomed to standing for the length of a working day.  It's also really, really not good for me.  I've been snacking more than I usually do, too, which does not help.

In the new stuff category, I read a really kewl book.  And yes, I know, it wasn't on my reading pile but I sometimes add to my reading pile without finishing what I've got.  (Ahem.)  And start reading the new stuff before I finish the old stuff.  (Ahem ahem.)

Highly recommended:  Food Rules:  An Eater's Manual.  One of my DH's awesome friends gave him a copy.  Don't let the mere four star out of 320 reviews fool you.  I'd give this one five stars.  And yes, I may quibble about some of the minor details, but they aren't important.  What is important is the message and the way that message is very easily digested.  Unfortunately it has more than five ingredients, but remember, moderation in all things, including moderation.

I'm working on a book cover as well.  I think I've got more than two full time jobs going here.  Will the universe kindly slow down so that I can finish some stuff and gain some ground on my to-do list?

You will!?!  Really?!!  Sweet!!

I'm going to get some work done while the getting is good!

Get flashed!

The latest issue of Flash Fiction Online is up!  If you don't have time to read even one of these stories a day, you don't have time to pee, either.  I wish you well.

'Cause I'm a copycat!

A dear friend of mine is recording her library at Library Thing, so naturally I have to too.  I've got all of 21 books entered, not much, but a start and they're the majority of my use-all-the-time how-to writing books.  I'm enjoying rediscovering my book collection (and realizing how big it is) and I'm also feeling a little more secure.  Should the unthinkable happen and our house burns down, assuming we make it out we'll have a head start on replacing some of our things.  

Some of the books, though, will be irreplaceable.  I'm pretty sure there are very, very few people who own The Rules:  A Short Course in The Basics by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.  Forget about finding it for sale anywhere.  No ISBN, printed by the now long gone (unfortunately) Pulphouse Publishing, Writer's Notebook Press.  My copy has seen much use and abuse.  On the inside, in pencil, is written $3 new.  That was 18 years ago.  I've outgrown most of the advice but it's still absolutely valid.  I just have it memorized and have no good excuses to not do exactly what's outlined in the chapbook.  For example:  

Rule #1:  You Must Write

Rule #2:  Finish What You Write

Rule #3:  Mail Your Manuscripts

Rule#4:  Keep your manuscripts in the mail

Rule #5:  Repeat rules 1 through 4 at least once a week

This is far from all that's in the book.  There's lots of craft and insight in there crammed into twenty six pages of hard-won experience.

When you're starting out, Kristine Kathryn Rusch's advice is priceless.  I had no idea about this sort of stuff.  It was easily the best $3 I'd ever spent on a writing book.  For the experienced writer, there's a lot of reminders that make you go mmm hmm, uh huh, yeah, I should be doing that right now but the dog ate my homework.  What could I do if I lose it?  I guess I'll have to see if she or her husband have any copies still around, or if it's been folded into a larger work.  Other than that, unless someone bought it, put it away and then aha! found it and decided they didn't love it anymore and put it on ebay, I think I'd be out of luck. 

But then, if there's a disaster, there's inevitably going to be irreplaceable things lost.  I think without Library Thing, I would lose things I didn't realize I had until I started missing them and trying to remember exactly which writing books I had, and why, and how I felt about them.  And art books, and fiction written by my friends and books on science and the classics and all that good stuff.  Besides, it'll be fun to look through my library electronically.  In fact, the next time I'm looking for a book I'm sure we have somewhere, I can just do a search for it, and there it'll be, or not, with the exact color of the cover and maybe even a private note about where I keep it in the house.  Pretty nifty.  So, have a looksy, and if you like it, I won't tell anyone you're just being a copycat.

Lace and Blade

Lace and Blade, edited by Deborah Ross

Overall:  Highly Recommended

There are some fine reviews on the web about this book so I won't go into too much detail.  Some of fantasy's finest authors are featured in this invitation only anthology that appropriately was released on Valentine's Day, 2008.  The stories vary from exotic to the best satisfying formula romance, from bizarre to wonderfully familiar, from sensual to stark.  There was only one story that I didn't connect with.  That a very high percentage of stories that worked for me, unheard of compared to the other anthologies I've read over the years.  Now, romance and subtle magic and swashbuckling is the norm here, so if you're looking for something edgy or quirky or a challenging read this probably isn't going to be your goblet of wine.  But for those of us who love sailing ships and Don Juan and heroes in disguise and slapped faces, for those of us who want to see pride fall (but not too far) and the woman get her man (or thing) and the hero to win the day, this is the book to read.  The unique, experienced voices of the authors sing and their creativity draw our expectations into new realms in this fabulous collection.  Available online.  I'll be sure to order Lace and Blade II.

What I'm reading:  Devil's Trumpet: A gardening mystery by Mary Freeman

Quality: High

My quality ratings:  Struggling, Emerging, Average, High, Very High

Flash! AaAah!

Don't forget to check the current issue of Flash Fiction Online!

I've been thinking a lot about flash fiction.  It's still coming to me mostly by accident the same way that finding a penny in the parking lot happens if you look around long enough.  I told a good friend of mine today that I can come up with several novel ideas in a single bath, enough for 10,000 years of writing within a lifetime, but it takes days of racking my brains before I come up with even one possibility for a flash.  Take a shower, she suggested.  She knows about me and water and ideas.  But then the water would get cold, I whined.  So take a quick shower and come up with the idea before you're done, she replied.

I'll try a prompt tomorrow.  In the meantime I've got a new short story close to done and some stuff to critique and more stuff to read.  Maybe later this week I'll have time to work on one of my novels.  Sheesh.  I knew I'd be able to focus more on writing once I quit my day job, but I didn't expect all my projects and plans to pig pile on me as a result. 

What I'm reading:  Lace and Blade, edited by Deborah Ross

Quality:  Very high

My quality ratings:  Struggling, Emerging, Average, High, Very High