You're a Trader!

I have a little brother. Most of you know this, because I am prone to babbling about him.

But, seriously, he's the cutest thing ever. This morning while getting ready to head out for a slew of doctor's appointments, Mom and I got into a debate about the color of my coffee mug.

Jake sat at the breakfast table, so we asked him to be a tiebreaker.

Me: It's pink, right buddy?
Jake: Right!
Mom: Nope. It's magenta. Jake, what color is it?
Jake: Magenta! *laughs*
Me: You little traitor!

A few minutes later, he ran through the living room and yelled at me: "You're a traitor!"

"You don't even know what traitor means!"

"Yes I do! It's a person who trades cards and--."

*insert vocabulary lesson here*

That's Jake. He wants desperately to join in with whatever fun is going on. He plays tricks like diving into your chair if you get up from it and sitting there with an adorable smirk while he waits for your reaction.

He's not always on level with things, but he tries his hardest. And he's a natural swimmer.

Which is why whenever Mom told me the teacher of his swim class said two sentences to him last Friday and ignored him the rest of the time while she videotaped the other boys' technique and taught them how to improve. She said Jacob would need much more one-on-one instruction to improve, which she couldn't give him with the other boys around.

The most incredible thing Jacob has done in his eleven years is learned how to improve. The other day I watched him go backward down the stairs, and I couldn't chastise him because I remember watching him learn to walk at twenty-one months old. My heart twists every time he says "Look!" because for years he would point out the car window and say, "Took at that!"

And whenever he gets in the pool and splashes his way safely across the deep end I remember pushing him around in a baby-seated swim ring for hours.

So don't tell me it's too hard to teach him, or that he can't learn the way other kids do. Yes, he needs patience. Yes, he's more easily distracted than a goldfish on Starbucks. And no, he won't speak up and tell you to pay attention to him.

But I will. And my mom will.

And anyone who has met him and doesn't want to move the world to help him succeed.

Well. They're traders.

Road Trip Wednesday: Writing Time!

Today's YA Highway Road Trip Wednesday topic is:

What time do you prefer to do your writing? Early Worm? Night Owl ? Any five seconds you can grab?


I'm a total night owl. i disappear into my "writing cave" (aka my room) after dinner and that's when I write. I can revise during the day, sometimes, but writing in daylight rarely happens.

Basically, I'm a writing vampire. Of the non-sparkly variety.

Book Musings: Somebody Everybody Listens To

Somebody Everybody Listens To by Suzanne Supplee

As per usual, Amazon doesn't have the cover I have. 

Anyway. this book is about a recent high school graduate named Retta Jones, who is taking off from her small Tennessee town to become a singer in Memphis. Catastrophes ensue, but Retta learns to be true to her dreams and her voice.

Voice is the one thing this book has a ton of. As soon as you start reading you're drawn into the speech pattern of a young girl from Tennessee. Being in Retta's head was definitely one of the best parts of the book! The supporting characters were also very well drawn and her interactions with most of them felt very real, even though some of them were a bit Nashville over-the-top.

Each chapter opens with trivia about a country music singer, which I liked. It helped sett the tone for the book. (Also, did you know Taylor Swift's middle name was Alison??) 

My only problem with this book is that it's a little too...real-life gritty. I wouldn't have minded a part-two where Retta is becoming a rising star, seeing her play shows and get a feel for the other side of the music scene. There's a lot of her time spent working in a two garage and going home to small-town Tennessee that worked for the story, but I wanted to see more of her music. Or maybe I just wanted the book to be longer.

There was also a bit of deus ex machina in the way things came together for Retta, but that's how it tends to be even in life isn't it? A kid is spotted by an agent at a restaurant and the next thing they're Sarah Michelle Gellar or Natalie Portman, so I can't fault that too much. 

Overall, I really loved the book and would recommend it to anyone who likes a book, and a character, with a lot of heart and a lot of song. 

Self-imposed Deadlines

Happy Monday everyone!

I've only got a few more weeks at home and a bunch of projects to wrap up before I go (and a few starting) I'm not where I thought I'd be at the end of the summer productivity-wise, but honestly I think it's okay. I've done a lot of things, am making some great YA-lit friends, and friends in other ways, so I'm pretty happy with it all. And going through my to-do list I did make most of my self-imposed deadlines.

And it's not like anyone else will be hurt by the things I didn't get done. Still, I feel a bit guilty. Self-imposed deadlines are big for me.


What about you? Are you hard on yourself for not finishing stuff on your imposed deadline?

Friday Five!

1. As part of the Picture Scanning Project I am having to rescan some photos that came out too dark for my mother's picture scanner (it's not very strong). Can I just say 1993 was a bad year for her camera? Anyway, I have a very well-documented childhood, and I make weird faces/do weird things in a lot of them. Hence, I'm planning a series of Baby Chelsey macros for the future. stay tuned.

2. I have been increasing my nerd-cred exponentially this summer. Not only have I watched all seven seasons of Buffy, I have read the season eight comics. Then, the other night while I stayed up all night for Pottermore (and got in at noon) I watched a bunch of old Sarah Michelle Gellar interviews and the 2008 cast reunion panel on Youtube. It was a wormhole I tell you.

3. Usually by now I've discovered at least one concert or show I want to see in the Fall. Now none of my fans seem to be touring. Economy, I guess, but it's been bad the past three years as well, so I don't know what's up. And off-year I suppose, but hopefully I will get a chance to see a few live shows. My anti-House of Blues attitude will probably not help with this.

4. I'm behind in Torchwood. I don't know why I'm not as into this season, except that I'm not as into the stakes as I was with Children of Earth. It felt more personal then with Gwen preggers and Jack having Steven. Hopefully it'll get better, I am a week behind.

5. In honor of my journey down the Youtube rabbit hole, the commercial that got four-year old Sarah Michelle Gellar sued. (It was the first time a company used the name of another company in their commercial. McDonald's sued Burger King and SMG)

RTW: Senses

This week's Road Trip Wednesday Topic is:


The Five Senses. How you use them in your writing, how you are inspired by them, pictorial essays, that character with smelly socks, books that have used them well, the ones that are currently missing from your work, etc.



Which gives me the perfect opportunity to talk about the book I just finished (again)

I know I talk about this book all the time, but it's probably the most perfect book I've ever read and its use of senses is gorgeous. Every time I read it, I can see the countryside she's describing, taste the lush foods they're eating, smell the nature around them--and all this in contrast with the vibrant London shops of the 1930s.

This book is the most under appreciated book of our times, I think, and i recommend it to everyone.


Enter here to win another of my favorite books, My Most Excellent Year

Rereading

As a kid I reread books all the time. These days, I can't seem to keep up reading for the first time. Still, every year since I was eighteen I've reread I Capture the Castle in the summer. It's honestly one of the most beautiful books i've ever read, and I love getting lost in the English country side with the narrator Cassandra.


Do you have books you reread? When? Why?