Hmm. Work. High School. Happy Halloween.

I'm working a part time job that is not writing over the holiday. I don't like it. It bores me and I really hate being bored at work. I miss writing and it's only been a few days. I am spoiled staying at home while Superson is in school and writing most of the time. I did not always do this. I used to have "real jobs"

Having a real job, as in a career and not a stupid part time one over the holidays, is a lot like high school sometimes. Cliques usually form at work. You might have to pretend to like people you can't stand. You usually have to dress similar to everyone else you work with. And there's usually someone who gets to tell you what to do, when to show up and when you can leave. And sometimes at the parties some people get drunk and do stupid things they regret the next day.

The big difference is they pay you to go to work. High school, not so much. So. Is High School really the best time of your life, or is it the worst?

For J.E. um. Mostly high school was the worst. I just didn't know it at the time. Well. Grade 12 was the worst. I knew that. I moved to a new city and wasn't the most healthy horse in the stable. Emotionally. Which made for a sucky year all around. Bleck.

The best part was that it ended. And things got better. Well. In the good old days it ended and you never had to see people again. But now we have facebook and myspace and they turn up to haunt you everywhere.

Gah.

After high school I got to have some cool jobs. And now I have the coolest one ever.
Writing. (Oh. And Mom. Sorry Superson)

Here's J.E. and Superson last Halloween. Just to change to a totally different topic without warning or sense making.



Happy Halloween tomorrow. I shall be out trick or treating!

Book Buying

I have a mini job for a couple months. Part time temporary gig.
It's boring.

So after I was done today I went to the bookstore and hung out in the YA section until Superson was done school. Saw Stephanie Myer is out in paperback. And damn if the book buyers don't love to pile up her books! Same with the new paperback for John Greene's Abudance of Katherines.

The Hunger Game was sold out and John Greene's new one wasn't there either. I was hoping to pick up both.

I did buy a couple of new books. I bought Twilight in paperback. Can you believe I haven't even read it yet? Hmm. I wonder if I will like it. I'm not usually much of a fantasy reader, but it must be good. I did love Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely though.

The DEBS Giveaway!

The Debs is a fabulous group of Young Adult writers with books coming out in 2009 and I'm super lucky to be a part of them.

Pop on over to the site to get involved in the topic of Scary Books. What makes a book scary? Do you like to read/write scary stuff? Please hop over there to visit and make sure to leave a comment ... because we're also giving stuff away!

Click on my Title or go to this link!!

http://community.livejournal.com/debut2009/324391.html

Yay for Halloween and Debs!!

J.E. in High School

So. A bunch of Young Adult Writers are posting their highschool pictures.
Here's my grade 12 photo.
Can you say....

Home Perm.

I feel like writing a poem.
"Ode to Big Hair"

Release Date

So....drum roll please.....


I have an official release date for Waiting To Score....

It releases February 23, 2009. That's one day after my neice's birthday.

That means people can buy it and read it and everything.
Guess what you're getting for your birthday neice....ha ha.
Just kidding. Maybe.

My First Blog Interview

http://author2author.blogspot.com/2008/10/a2a-chat-interview-with-je-macleod.html

It's my first ever blog interview. How cool are those ladies over at Author 2 Author?
Very cool.

How cool am I? Well. Not much. But that's okay.

Blah...Blah...Blah....

Sigh. Literary figure??
I went to a writer's group at my local library today. Hoping to bond with some fellow writers. Maybe learn a thing or two. Instead.

We had a rather suicidal playwright who just broke up with his girlfriend. He actually told us he believed he could not commit to a woman because of his love for (and he patted his journals) Which he proudly showed us he wrote sideways in sometimes. Sigh. He held up the pages and everything. He used different colors of ink to convey different moods. Um. That's great for you, but what can you tell me about writing?

Then he solemnly explained that part of his creative process was to go out on a mad bender and when he woke up sick and hungover....that...that is the moment he could begin his writing journey. In his journal. Perhaps sideways. Because "typing takes away from the creative process."

It made me angry on so many levels. One. I haven't had a drink in about 13 years. So does that mean, I can't be a writer?? I have a laptop. Does that make me a faker?
It made me angry because he was so disdainful of the "type of books being written today." "You can't tell one author from another," he cried.

Around the room, heads bobbed. "Sad isn't it," one woman proclaimed. A lot of these people are just starting out in writing. Exploring their passion for it. I realize my way is not the right way or the only, but please buddy, get the hell over yourself and your vision of what it is to be a "literary figure". I don't think he did writer's a favour trying to portray himself as a stereotype that I personally do not subscribe to.

In the end I told him I write and he would consider it everything he is against. Then I had to leave to go pick my son up from school. Man. It was silly.

Bummer.

Running and What If

Today I did the run for the cure. I was not really in the mode for it as I haven't been running much lately but I did 5km in about 35 minutes. Without collapsing or anything. Which is good.

I was alone because while I have do have friends and some friends run, none run at my pace. Which is slow. And I kind of like to run alone. Although running with 20,000other people isn't much like running alone. Thousands of people, many wearing pink wigs I might add. And dogs dressed up, including a poodle dyed pink. Not sure how that made him feel. It was a boy. I saw.

I started off pacing myself with a couple about twenty years older than me. Yeah. They kicked my ass and tired me out so I found a couple of gals at my pace and followed freakishly close behind them. They kept me going so it was all good, even if I did feel kind of stalkerish.

I was in writer mode in the warm up before the race started. I had all these what if thoughts for stories. I looked around at the crowds and wondered what some of the people's stories were. Maybe someone met their soul mate today? Many were running for someone they lost.

In a different genre, what if someone had set a bomb to go off. Or a crazy person started shooting. Pleasant thoughts like that. What if stories. I decided I was weird. Again.

So I finished my run. I never did get to thank my pacers. I lost them at the end.
But I hope they have a good story from the race. Doesn't everyone have so many what ifs inside of them?

Weird eyeball pick

This has a purpose. You may or may not know what it is....