Verse Novel Challenge: I Heart You, You Haunt Me

I'm participating in Caroline Starr Rose's Verse Novels challenge, which means that I have to read five verse novels by the end of 2010. Caroline has a verse novel of her own, May B., coming out in fall, 2011. Yay, Caroline!

I read my first verse novel on Monday -- I Heart You, You Haunt Me, by Lisa Schroeder.

I was right in the middle of City of Bones (one of my Fill in the Gaps project list books) when I brought I Heart You home from the library, and I couldn't put it down. I found myself reading standing up in the kitchen while making dinner, something I never do.

But it's easy to do with a verse novel because the chapters are so short. You can seriously pick up the book for two minutes and you might finish a chapter. Just the kind of book for a busy mom, let me tell you!

That wasn't the only reason why I couldn't put it down, though. There were so many things I wanted to find out. How did Jackson die? Why did Ava blame herself? What does a girl do with a ghost boyfriend? All those questions kept me turning pages, let me tell you.

I'm excited to keep going with this challenge. I already have another Lisa Schroeder book, Far From You, on my bedside table for when I'm done with City of Bones.

Casting The Gods Adrift

Guest Blogger: Olivia Sonnichsen

Eight-year-old Olivia is an avid reader. She enjoys any kind of chapter book she can get her hands on. Her favorite part of the day is coming home from school. If it's not a school day, Olivia's favorite thing to do is play computer games.

Today Olivia will be reviewing the book CASTING THE GODS ADRIFT, by Geraldine McCaughrean.

Casting  The  Gods  Adrift is a great book for  people  intrested in  ancint Eygpt. It`s also a book  I think people who  are  intrested   in animals  would  like.This book is  a  great  book  if  you  don't  think so,then  you  can  check  it  out.    

I Recommend: The Baby in the Hat

The Baby in the Hat by Allen Ahlberg is one of those picture books you and your kids (if you have them) will fall in love with.

Set in colonial England, it follows the adventures of a young boy who one day does an extraordinary thing: he catches a baby falling out of a window -- in his hat.

The baby's mother gives him half a crown for his good deed, which changes his fortunes forever.

There's a delightful twist at the end, too.

And did I mention the wonderful illustrations?

My children sat wide-eyed while I read this book. They loved the pirate-fighting scene. My son learned what cabin boys were and details about the English navy. My daughters delighted in the romance. They loved guessing the twist at the end right before it happened.

Beautiful story! We borrowed this one from our library. I'll probably keep renewing it until the system won't let me anymore, and then order my own copy. Er, I mean, a copy for my children....

WIP Wednesday: Plugging Away

I've made some progress this week. I'm about half-way through my second draft of the WiP -- up to the 32,000-word mark.

I know there are some big rewrites to come -- a few plot/climax shifts -- so the bulk of the gruelling work is still ahead.

Still, I'm celebrating because it's going well. I'm writing almost every day, even if it's only for a short chunk of time. I know that even those half-hour bursts in front of the computer will pay off.

My natural inclination is to wait until I have a longer stretch of time to sit down and focus. But I find that if I'm in my novel more often, I'm more involved. I don't need to reread sections to remember where I am or what my characters are doing. Lots of short chunks are proving just as productive as one long (rare) stretch.

So, how are your projects going?

(Don't forget to leave three words to inspire me in the comments section of this post, and I'll write a short story about your three words with your name in it! Thanks!)

Challenge Me

When I saw my aunt last week, we were talking about one of my Story A Week stories. I was telling her how increasingly difficult it's becoming to come up with new ideas.

She had a brilliant solution.

But to set the solution in motion, I need your help.

I want you to give me three interesting words.

Your words will be my inspiration for an upcoming, original short story.

As a thank you, I'll name a character in the story after you. It won't be YOU (obviously), because that would get tricky and sticky ... but wouldn't it be cool to read a story with your name in it? With your three words inspiring it?

Keep it clean. No swear words, please. Nothing too suggestive or risque. I'm writing for a general audience here!

So, leave your three words in the comments below. If your first name isn't part of your screen name (ie. if you go by "The Putrid Onion" online) , make sure to sign off the comment with your first name. (Otherwise I'll have to name a character The Putrid Onion, and that might distract from the story.)

I hope this will keep me busy for the next few weeks (maybe months), so don't be shy about leaving a comment. I will get to them ALL eventually.

Note to Facebook friends:  Leaving a comment on my actual blog (as opposed to Facebook) would be ideal because I'll be able to keep track better. It's pretty easy to click through to my blog. If you post anonymously, just remember to sign off with your name so I know who you are.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to reading your three words and feeling the inspiration!

A Story A Week: A Nurse Named Dale

Kendra had been watching Michaela’s face, but now her eyes darted to the desperately bleeping monitor. The regular rolling hills of Michaela’s heartbeat were replaced by jagged cliffs and crevices.

“Don’t worry,” said the male nurse on the other side of the bed. “It’s just the meds. It’ll go back to normal in a minute.”

Kendra nodded, making circles with her finger on the back of Michaela’s soft hand.

“She’ll be fine,” he said.

“I know,” Kendra whispered. “She’s a trooper.”

Michaela cracked open her eyelids. “I am not a storm trooper.”

Kendra noticed the nurse’s amused smile. “Not a storm trooper, honey,” she said. “A trooper. Like, you keep trooping.”

“What’s trooping?” Michaela’s voice faded off, her eyelids sinking closed. Kendra reached to comb back a tendril of her daughter’s curly hair.

“It’s working,” the nurse said. His nametag read ‘Dale,’ but Kendra didn’t think he looked like a Dale. More like an Ethan or a Cole. Dale was a name for old men with glasses and beards, pot-bellies and pocket-protectors. This Dale wore his blue scrubs like a tux.

Kendra directed her gaze back to Michaela’s face where it belonged. Studying the nametags of the male nurse in the recovery room wasn’t exactly appropriate behavior.

“My tummy hurts,” Michaela whimpered.

“We gave you some medicine,” Dale said gently. He held her hand with the IV in it, a pink piece of binding wrapped around it to hold it in place. “It’ll help you feel better. Then we’ll take you up to the room, get you in a nice, comfy bed.”

Kendra glanced up at him gratefully, tears puddling behind her eyelids. Kindness always choked her up like this.

“She’s a good kid,” he said. She noticed the New Jersian edge to his accent.

“She’s been through a lot,” she said, fighting the temptation to reveal her struggles to a stranger.

Dale watched her massage the back of Michaela’s hand. Then he lifted his eyes, Chinese-porcelain blue. “Ruptured appendixes are tough.”

Kendra nodded, swallowing convulsively. “I know everything happens for a reason,” she said. Maybe the reason in this case was so she would meet Dale. She could get used to blue eyes, even get used to his name. He was so good with Michaela, so gentle. Maybe he’d come up to Michaela’s room later to see how they were doing. Maybe he’d ask for Kendra’s phone number. “It’s just that today was our sad-anniversary.” She kept her eyes down. If she looked up, she would lose her nerve. “Her daddy died in a car accident a year ago today. We were just going to keep it quiet, spend a day at home….”

“I’m sorry,” Dale said.

Kendra dashed away a stray tear with the hind of her hand. “I’m just glad she’s okay … She’s all I have left.”

“She’s okay.” He touched her forearm lightly. “You’re okay. You’re both storm troopers.”

Kendra allowed herself a smile. “Thanks.”

She glanced at his hand, nestled against the rough texture of her sweater. What kind of hand did a man named Dale have?

That’s when she spotted the dull gold of a wedding band.

A married hand, of course. Dang.

I hope you enjoyed this week's story. If you're wondering why I'm posting these every week, click here to read about my original A Story A Week Challenge.

We're Back!

Yes, we're back in Prosser. My brain might take a few days to catch up, but my body is home.

Olivia's surgery went well. Thank you! She's still in some discomfort because the stitches in her upper lip (that go right up to the inside of her nose) are tight, so she can't smile. We all have to be careful not to say anything funny.

She hates taking all the medicine. She also hates it when I have to do the treatment to her stitches five times a day. I'm feeling like a full-time nurse. Administering medicine and keeping track of hydrogen peroxide treatments takes time!

Plus, we just found out my three-year-old has ringworm (it's not actually a worm, by the way, but a fungus, similar to athlete's foot -- still gross, though), so I've been slathering on the anti-fungal ointment, too. Add the baby's diaper rash and I'm about ready to open my own pharmacy!

Still, underneath all the craziness is a deep thankfulness.

(1)  Olivia made it through the surgery. Not only that, but she will look amazing once the stitches come out and the swelling goes down. At the moment she looks like she was in a beer hall brawl, what with the fat lip and all. When that goes away, I think we'll be pretty speechless with how incredible she looks. Many times I've looked past the stitches and the swelling and thought, "WOW!" Thank you, Dr. Kuang!

(2) Even though the surgery turned out to be more extensive than I was expecting, I am so grateful for Shriners Hospital. Not only do they provide all Olivia's surgeries free of charge, but they give her tons of toys and let her play video games and watch movies the whole time she's in the hospital. When your child's on an IV and heavily medicated for pain, it's such a relief when they have something to sit up and DO to keep their mind off what they're going through.  Olivia asked to stay in the hospital an extra night instead of going back to the hotel. I think that says a lot.

(3) I'm thankful for my family. Aaron's parents came along with us to Portland and that was such a blessing, I can't even begin to tell you. It gave Aaron and me the freedom to be at the hospital together at important times. Heck, we even squeezed in a date on Friday night! Nainai and Papa stayed in the hotel room with the kids (Olivia was back in the hotel by that time) and we walked into Downtown Portland for Thai food. Not to mention that having my father-in-law, who is a physician, along for Olivia's appointments is always a huge comfort and help.

(4) I got to see some people whom I love a lot on this trip: my aunt and uncle, who live across the river from Portland, as well as one of my very best friends from high school in Hong Kong. Olivia told my aunt at dinner the night before the surgery that she really wanted a dress-up bonnet (my aunt is an amazing seamstress), so my aunt went right home and got to work. She told me two days later that she was finished with it and would put it in the mail right away. Is that awesome or what? I was also so glad to see my good friend, Linda, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She let me come over even though she had just had her second chemo treatment. It was so good to see her so beautiful, so brave. Words cannot describe.

Olivia will be home this week from school so I can keep doing the hydrogen peroxide thing throughout the day. I'm excited to have her around. I love her wit and her funny stories, which are made even more priceless because she can't grin to go along with them. She's got the perfect dead-pan comedy routine going on most of the day. We're planning a big trip to the library tomorrow to get her about a gazillion books so she doesn't have to keep watching movies like she did in the hospital. I'll probably be on-and-off blogging, making sure I'm enjoying my daughter's week of "vacation."

Thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers for us over these last few days! They were felt and appreciated.