New Pencil Smell

Here we are--the end of the first week back at school for teachers. The kids come in Monday. I’ve been working and scrubbing all week, thanks to a last-minute classroom move. I still have plenty to do today, what with meetings and copies and lesson plans and all, but the excitement is in the air!

I’ve always been an office supply girl. I get far more excited over a luxurious fountain pen, a fistful of freshly-sharpened pencils, or finding the perfect journal than I ever do about shoes or clothes. The aroma and ambience of a high-quality paperie has always been more seductive than the lingerie department. That’s part of the reason I love the beginning of a new school year: a built-in reason to buy markers and construction paper! And composition books in pretty colors! And folders with horses on them!

Okay, now I’m getting silly, but you get the idea. I love the start of a new school year. The first day of school is like peering into the Plato’s Cave of education--the year still lies before you, pristine, unsullied, full of possibility. You can see it for everything it can be (at least until the people show up and start chunking spanners in the works).

Kind of like a new book idea, come to think of it.

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Blather, Rinse, Reboot

One of the great things about attending an RWA National Conference in your own back yard is that you can get right down to work on the energy surge. That’s a good thing, too; I got my marching orders from Dream Agent. The short version: polish and send Little League, two chapters and a treatment for both the Hell’s Belles and Arden Grove series, and one completely new idea. Oh, and nuke The Five Step Plan and start over. Le sigh.

So I have homework, and lots of it, added to the assignment I’d already given myself: Graduate to a big girl writer website. A full day’s pondering and playing with iWeb later--okay, and much of the night, since I got in flow state and didn’t stop working until 3 am--and here you have it.

I’ve been maintaining a blog for five years now, but now it’s time to shift focus to the books. The archives for the dish will live on in Blogger’s servers. I’ll be lifting some solid posts from the dish to re-use here. And yes, the Bed/Dinner boys will be coming with me.

I’m excited. Feels like I’ve washed that stasis out of my hair and sent it on its way.

(Dontcha love this image? It’s nipped from a JWT Frankfurt ad for Priorin “extra strong” shampoo. Many thanks to its creative genius!)

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Biscuit Worthy

I can't remember where I picked it up, but the Bed/Dinner List game always provides some interesting conversation in that lull between clearing the plates and dishing up the pie. Here's how you play: Name a well-known man, then say whether he'd be named to the Bed List (i.e., you'd go to bed with him and not kick him out, crackers be damned) or the Dinner List (you'd love to have dinner with him, but not necessarily hook up for post-dessert activities, if you get my drift). Once you've called a guy, no one else can name him during that round. It gets interesting!

I happened to launch a round of the Bed/Dinner List game at the famous dinner party wherein I met Dream Agent--one of the things, she said later, that convinced her to take me on as a client (I don’t recommend this method if you’re agent hunting, but it worked beautifully for me!). The group at the table had gone a round or two when one of the servers walked in and offered her choice: "Matthew McConaughey. I could sop him up with a biscuit!" Since then, "Biscuit Worthy" has become an ultimate compliment among my close girlfriends. He sure is. That grin! That six-pack! Plus, any guy who feels comfortable enough to play the bongo drums naked is a guy who's probably comfortable enough to do lots of interesting things, if you get my drift. Hazel, fetch the flour. Let's bake us some biscuits!

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