Second Time Right

Me (upon finding Lala collapsed on the couch after she took L. to the park and back): It looks like HappyLala has run out of happy.

Lala: *raising one arm weakly into the air* I’m still happy!

Me: HappyLala has clearly run out of Lala then.

I’ll Take That As A Yes

“You know the movie Gone In Sixty Seconds? I can be gone in six.”

– L’s mother’s answer to my question if she needed a break.

I Think The Page Worked For Her Though

I don’t like making people cry. Some people do, some writers in particular really do, but I just don’t like it.

Not all stories have happy endings though.

So when I recently wrapped up a story I knew wasn’t going to have a happy ending, I looked at it, then decided while the story proper had to end on that note, that wasn’t the exact note I wanted to leave the reader on, so I wrote a quick epilogue. Now for small projects like this one was, I usually hand the pages as I finish them to one of my in-house editors for review, but this time I decided I’d better write that epilogue first and hand over all those pages together, and I did tell my editors this. But as it happened, one of my editors found herself with the last page of the story proper and some time on her hands . . .

Long story short, that’s how I ended up with this editor, tears streaming down her face, storming into my office, fixing me with a fierce glare and telling me in no uncertain terms that I had “better write that epilogue!”

Ah, Memories

I’ve been noticing that a surprising number of people are pretty excited about it being the 30th anniversary of the movie Footloose. While I’m not one of those people, I am somewhat amused by the realization that this means the 30th anniversary of my mother’s Footloose-related foot injury is now on the horizon . . .

The Write Response

As a writer you are professionally obligated to tell people, “You can read my stuff or not, suit yourself.  If you do read it, I hope you like it, but it’s okay if you don’t.”

But you’re not obligated to mean it.

Now If Only She Could Give Me A Funny Title For This Too

Recently L. has been having fun with the realization that I have two names around here, so he’s taken to alternating between calling me “Daddy” and testing out how I respond to the name “Rob.” Unsure how I felt about this, I decided to turn it into a game.

L: *laughing* Hey, Rob . . . what are you doing?

Me: *grinning* That’s Daddy to you, mister!

L: *laughing a little more* Hey, Rob . . . what are you doing?

Me: *grinning even bigger* That’s Daddy to you, mister!

This back and forth exchange can go on for some time, and while it’s cute and all, it wasn’t really funny enough to share here until the day L’s Mother gave me the punchline.

Me: That’s Daddy to you, mister!

L’s Mother: *striking a pose* Hey, Daddy . . .

Me: That’s . . . *does a double take* . . . fine, actually.

What Can I Say? She’s Right.

If we save up our cleanings until Spring, our Winter will get more than a bit dusty.

– Nynia Chance

Longer Than I Expected, Really

Annnnd the elapsed time between my use of the word “vacation” and the loss of the “vacation feeling” I mentioned yesterday was:

Three hours or so.

Made It

Updates to my writing website are officially on hiatus for the time being, but as I said before, I will be continuing with updates and announcements here.  Since this is in no way a vacation for me, I hope the old adage of “a change is a good as a rest,” holds true.

For the moment though, it certainly feels like a vacation, so I’m enjoying that feeling while it lasts.

Behold The Power Of Puppy!

While the puppy has a long (long, long, long) way to go before she starts earning her keep around here,  I have to admit that her ability to keep my three-year-old son’s room tidy is nothing short of miraculous.

(This miracle occurred once he realized that I was serious that he couldn’t play in his room with the puppy if there were toys in the floor, so he’s currently obsessing on keep his room clean.  Yes, I realize this may not last.)