Friday Five

This post is going to be a drive-by Friday Five, because I got about four hours of sleep last night, am stoopid tired and am volunteering at the French Cultural Center tomorrow.

1. I saw Natalia Zukerman play tonight. Please go see her if you can.She's FABULOUS, FABULOUS. This if you don't believe me:



I have a hard time focusing on live music because A. I am a writer and have 90's-child ADD, and B. I focus so much on the musicians, their emotion, their movements. Her percussionist Mona Tavakoli was absolutely fucking incredible.


2 I had a WIP breakthrough after a day of being sure I'd never get the stakes right. One of my writing group peeps listened to me complain all day, but I think I have it. It'll require some major plot refiguring, but it will condense as well. Woo!


3. I finished my synopsis for the project I'll be querying this summer. I've never been good at them and having the support of other writers online has been amazing. The query comes next, then one final polish, eep!


4. I've had Tamora Pierce on the brain lately due to my publishing project on repackaging Alanna: The First Adventure for 2011, but I finally got to start Tortall and Other Lands today after listening to the Trickster books on audio again.  I won't spoil, but the story "Nawat" about Aly's crow-husband from the Trickster Books dealt with disability in a fabulous fascinating way. I love the way Pierce isn't afraid of new frontiers, the way she faces societal issues, from women's right, to queer issues, to disability. I'm mulling over a post on my opinion of the overlooking of disability in diversifying YA and my sheer glee at this story makes me want to write it sooner rather than later. 


5. This:



Good night.