Bad Beauty Decisions

(FYI, I'm posting instead of Mel today because she doesn't have Internet access)

So, I colored my hair this weekend. The box said it was supposed to be a deep brown. But the hair on my head most certainly looks a lot closer to black. In fact, it's really REALLY reeeeeally dark. My daughter loves it. It's certainly...striking. LOL. Oh well, it'll fade, right? And it's certainly not the worst thing I've ever done in the name of beauty.

I've made several beauty boo-boos in my life, two of which revolve around my rather full eyebrows. Like the time I tried to shave my eyebrows because I couldn't find my tweezers. That was a really dumb idea--please don't try it at home. I had razorburn for a couple of days. Attractive!

Or the time I decided I was going to wax my own brows. I put the stuff on, tried to rip it off, and no hair came off. Instead, I lost several layers of skin, resulting in thick SCABS under my brows. Double attractive!

Dry-shaving my legs right before a date was another dumb thing I did once. YOWCH, the continuous stinging razor burn from this is totally unforgettable. I spent the whole date cringing at how awful my legs felt.

What's the worst beauty decision you've made? Hey, there's bonding in shared pain, right? LOL

And That's The Way He Was

When I was growing up I heard a lot about how television was unhealthy, and how Americans were addicted to the "boob box." But to be fair, my parents came of age in the earliest days of television, and began their adulthood as it took hold of the nation. And with the passing, last night, of the giant Walter Cronkite, I have to say I am astonished less that people are reluctant to turn it off and more that they turn it off at all.

Because Walter Cronkite guided us through some absolutely astonishing moments. If we think about what has happened live, on television in the last 20, 30, 40 years... why would anyone turn the thing off? They shot two presidents before our eyes; shot the people who shot the first one; shot his brother, shot MLK. They landed on the moon; they lost a shuttle; they brought Apollo 13 home safe. War came to our living rooms. Roots came, too, and a generation (my own) of young people watched a mini-series that drove the horror of slavery home hard. Our elections happen live. Our nation grieves in unison. The New York skyline fell and was forever changed-- as were we-- before a nation's stunned gaze.

People in my own age group will remember Mister Cronkite. We were only children, true, but the evening news was always on in every house then. There was Harry Reasoner, David Brinkley, and Walter Cronkite, who was the first national anchorman. He broke the news of JFK's death to my parents. And when a 4 year old in Green Harbor was outraged that she wasn't going to get to see Bullwinkle, he changed her mind about what was important. Some guys named Buzz and Neal landed on the moon. No really... the moon. So Bullwinkle could wait. Even at 4 I got it.

Rest in the arms of the angels, Walter. And thank you for telling us how it was.

Our Golden Girl

Tomorrow night is a big night for our 'Nista, Amanda Brice. She's a finalist in the Golden Heart Award from Romance Writers of America for her unpublished book, CODENAME:DANCER. She'll find out tomorrow evening if she won the much coveted award.

We are so, so proud of Amanda and want to wish her the very best of luck. This is her second year in a row of being a finalist. Every year, there are more than 1000 entries in this contest. It's a huge honor to be a finalist, but I think she's got the stuff to take the whole thing.

So, Amanda, this post is for you. You are an inspiration to us all. Not just for your amazing writing skills, either. You are a great friend. You are a warm and giving woman and you never shy away from a challenge. I'm so glad to call you friend. Good luck tomorrow night--we'll all be sending you warm, fuzzy vibes. I only wish I could be there to watch you walk across that stage.

RWA Nationals

RWA Nationals officially begins today, although there were some events last night, including the Literacy Autographing (picture 500 authors all signing books in a ballroom with thousands of fans) and the Diva Drinks.

Kristen, Mel, and I are all in attendance, wishing desperately that Chrissy, Rhonda, and Gwen could join us.

None of us are signing (not this year at least), but Mel and I are both presenting workshops tomorrow, so if you're attending the conference, please stop by and say hi!

Mel's workshop is entitled "I Sold to New York, Now What?" and she's on a panel with Crystal Jordan, Maria Geraci, Kate Pearce, Lilli Feisty, and Lynn Rae Harris. It's from 9:45-10:45 am on Friday, July 17.

My workshop is entitled "Intellectual Property: How to Protect Your Rights and Avoid Infringing Upon Others." I'm on a panel with fellow attorney Jennifer Williston, and New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts is our moderator! How cool is that?! It's from 11 am to noon on Friday, July 17.

So if you're around, please come say hi! We'd love to meet you!

How long will you give a book?

When I was younger, I would usually read a book completely through, whether I liked it or not. Of course, if I didn't like it, I'd gripe forever about wasting all that time on it. haha

However, I find that over the last few years, I have less patience for a book that doesn't draw me in within, say, the first 3 chapters or so. When that happens, I'll usually put it down and never read it again. I'm not sure if this is a result of being older, or because of being a writer. Or maybe a deadly combo of both. haha

What about you? Will you read a book from start to finish, even if you don't like it that much (or hate it completely)? If not, how far will you read before you close it?

(*Interesting side note: the same applies with my TV and movie-watching habits. If a show or movie doesn't have me hooked within approx. 15 minutes or has wretched pacing or dialogue or something, I find I'm too impatient to sit and watch it all and will usually stop.)

Special Guest: Greg Logsted

Please help me welcome today's guest blogger, Greg Logsted! Greg currently lives in Danbury with his wife and fellow author, Lauren Baratz-Logsted and their daughter Jackie. He is the author of Something Happened, Alibi Junior High and coauthor of The Sisters Eight. Find him online at www.GregLogsted.com and www.twitter.com/GregLogsted.

Thank you, Fictionistas, for having me on your site!

One of the things I really love in books and movies is time travel. I just can’t get enough of it! Last summer I read a really great time-travel novel called REPLAY by Ken Grimwood. It’s about a man who keeps dying when he’s 43 and waking up when he’s 18 to live his life over and over again. It made a fantastic summer vacation even better. Sun, sand and a good book – it’s the simple things in life that give me the most pleasure.

I suspect that my love of time travel is one of the main reasons I love to write YA and MG novels. I’ve had two published, SOMETHING HAPPENED and ALIBI JUNIOR HIGH, and I’ve got others in the pipeline. When I write a YA novel I’m able to shift my whole thought process back to my teenage mindset. It’s a fun semi-time-travel type of routine that’s also quite ironic since I spent the majority of my teenage school years staring out of various classroom windows daydreaming.

About now I bet you’re thinking, “Greg, do you want to write a time-travel novel? And if you could, would you also like to have a real life time-travel adventure of your own?”

These are both great questions. Thanks for asking.

Well, to answer the first question: yes, I would like to write a time-travel novel and I suspect one day I will. But the second question is a little more difficult. Would I like to really time travel? To go back to my teenage years and see all my old friends? To re-experience what I loved? To change all my mistakes? The answer to this question is…I’m not sure.

Think about it. Let’s say I’m suddenly zapped back into my teenage self. How can I possibly do ANYTHING without looking like a complete moron and head case? I mean I go to school and then what? I’m not going to remember half of my friends’ names, my locker combinations, or my class schedule. I’m not going to even remember the majority of my teachers’ names. (Sorry, guys, there’s only a handful of you that I actually remember. I know you all tried. Hey, if it’s any consolation the only thing I remember from a whole term of economics is three words: “supply and demand.”)

Anyway…there’s no way I could possibly fit in. I would stand so far out that there’d be an excellent chance I’d be locked up in a psych ward within twenty-four hours.

Unless…unless of course I had a plan, and guess what? I think I’ve got one.

So here’s my idea of what you should do if you ever find yourself transferred back through time. First of all DO NOT try to fake it. I repeat, DO NOT try to fake it. Like I said before, you’ll never blend in. Instead, here’s what I think you should do: find yourself a lonely road. Hit yourself on the head with a large rock (not too hard, just enough to leave a bump – AND it should go without saying but I’ll say it anyway, make sure no one actually sees you doing this) then lie on the side of the street all twisted and turned in an abnormally strange angle until someone finds you.

There’s possibilities there, isn’t there? You see what I’m getting at, don’t you? It’s so simple that it just might work.

Anyway…that’s my time-travel thoughts for the day…WHAT’S YOURS? IF YOU COULD TRAVEL BACK IN TIME, WOULD YOU? WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

copping out

Sorry. I'm so busy today finishing edits and preparing for my conference, I'm totally copping out of a real post. BUT if you love Monty Python and Star Trek (or if you just love Monty Python) this will crack you up!



ps: I posted a different one on my personal blog today that's just as funny. Go forth and laugh! I promise to be back next week with real content.