A few things of note

1. If you are planning on participating in the LDS Writer Blogfest, please grab the button from the sidebar. It originally had the wrong source code, but that's been fixed. It's not too late to join in the fun. Spread the word!

2. We've had houseguests all week. The kids have loved having friends to play with. It reminds me of simpler times when there weren't netflix and Wii's and internets. Also, the weather has been amazingly warm, so there has been lots of outside playing time, which makes for quiet inside and peaceful mommy.

3. Morning sickness just doesn't know when to quit. I mean, seriously. I have been taking nausea drugs to make things better, so I thought it was going away. After all, I'm almost halfway through this whole pregnancy thing now. Foolishly, I stopped taking the drugs. Looks like a few more weeks of morning sickness and accompanying drugs are on the horizon for me.

4. Have you visited thegregwriter.blogspot.com? I still think he's the better writer. And it's worth stopping in. He's got great insights into the world and writing and stuff.

That's it for me. How are you?

Out of Genre

So, small town Utah where I live doesn't have a big book store. Or even a big library. And in the library, the YA section is even smaller. (Although the romance/erotica section is pretty big.) That means my options for new YA books are pretty limited.

I recently looked the the collection of books at our house and found a fairly large stack of books by John Grisham. I thought to myself: "Self, you've never read one of these. Everybody loves them. You've seen a movie or two on TV and thought they were pretty good. Give it a try." So I picked the top book off the stack. A PAINTED HOUSE.

I started to read. It wasn't too long before I realized that this book was not what I had expected. I kept thinking, "Where's the lawyers? The judicial system? The thriller/suspense action." Turns out, I had picked the one book in the pile that was a literary work instead of a suspense book. I don't think I could have picked anything further from my chosen genre if I tried.

So, the book follows a 7 year old boy through the rigors of cotton picking in the 50s. There's no real action to drive the story forward. It kind of plods along. I found myself reading 5 or 10 pages and putting it down for the rest of the day. It took me almost a month (which is unheard of for me), but I finished it a few nights ago. And in true literary style, the book didn't really end. It just kind of dropped off in the middle of the next thing that happens.

So, why am I telling you all this? I learned something reading that book. While it was definitely not something I would have chosen, I did want to see it through to the end. There was something about that 7 year old and all the secrets he encountered in the course of the story that kept me coming back. And while it wasn't sweeping, crashing world of a young adult novel, I cared about the characters. I could see the places and the people.

While I doubt I will ever write something truly literary, especially for an adult market, there's a lot that can be incorporated from reading and learning about literary works.

What about you? Have you read out of your genre? What did you learn by doing so?

A quick question

So, I recently signed up for Pinterest. I've heard and seen lots of people using it, but I have no idea what I'm supposed to do at this point. I don't have any boards or pins or whatever the terminology is. Help a girl out?

The Obligatory Post

I know! 3 posts in the same week! What's the world coming to?

There's a lot of buzz going on this week. It seems a certain book to movie adaptation is hitting theaters today. In case you haven't heard. Yup. It's the "Hunger Games" premier today. And I, sadly, will not be seeing it. Probably not for several weeks. If at all. There's two movie screens in our little town. Neither of them is known for being on top of the new releases, although, they do get movies while they are still first run. Current offerings are "The Secret of Arriety" (which I want to see) and "John Carter" (which I also want to see.) Notice a theme? Both are book to movie adaptations.

I've noticed this more and more lately. There's a lot (and I really mean a ton) of movies that are currently out (or coming out) that came from a book. And these things are generally done to more or less success, depending on which book, how faithfully they follow the story, etc. I think it has something to do with a ready-made plot, and in many cases, a proven track record of sales.

Greg (the hubby who now has a name, since he's also a blogging writer at thegregwriter.blogspot.com) watched a movie last night for the first time. Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides. Don't judge. We have three kids and limited theater options, remember? Did you know it was a book first? Written by Tim Powers (who is an author everyone should read at least once.) I haven't read this book, but Greg has. I asked him how they compared. He said, "Well, the book has Blackbeard, and the fountain of youth. And Blackbeard is magical." Pretty much everything else is an invention of the movie. My favorite part? In the credits it says: "Suggested by the book by Tim Powers". Suggested by. Not even based on. And they got it right. It was definitely suggested by.

So, the ultimate question. Will I see The Hunger Games? Yes. Most likely. Not until most of the known universe has already seen it, but probably at some point. The great news about having read the book already? No real spoilers, except for what was left out (or possibly changed.)

What about you? Are you seeing The Hunger Games? What do you think about all these book to movie adaptations?

Something New

Just a head's up. My hubby has been a closet writer, but he's making the leap. He's started a blog at thegregwriter.blogspot.com. He's pretty good. (I might even say he's better than me.) It's worth a look. Go check him out!

Announcing the 3rd Annual LDS Writer Blogfest

I've never been shy of mentioning that I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or LDS Church (sometimes called the Mormons.) For the past several years, Krista at motherwrite.blogspot.com has been hosting the LDS Writer Blogfest, in which LDS writers from around the country blogged about our beliefs and linked to everybody else’s posts. Since Krista recently had a baby, she asked me to organize it this year.

We're planning to hold this year’s blogfest on the second Tuesday in April, April 10. If you’re interested in participating, you can leave a comment here or email me with the name of the blog you'll be posting to. (Email address is in the sidebar.) I'll get in touch with you about the particulars and as we get closer to the date, I’ll send you a complete list of all the other bloggers so you can include that list somewhere in your post.

And if you know of any other LDS writer-bloggers who might be interested in participating, feel free to send them my way. We'd love to have anyone who is interested be able to join in.

You can also pick up the blog button from the side bar to spread the word.

Upcoming blogfest

If you've been around the blog for a while, you'll know that every April, I participate in the LDS Writers' Blogfest. It's an opportunity for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who also happen to be writers, share something about themselves and the church. In the past, Krista at Mother. Write. Repeat. has been one of the hosts (and founder) of the blogfest, but this year, she's a little busy. She just had a baby and is adjusting to that. So, I've taken up the reins and will be organizing the blogfest this year. If you have previously participated, or would like to join in this year, please drop me a note. I'll be sending out more information as the month goes by, so watch for more updates.