Road Tripping
We’re in Bloomington, Minnesota. ETA Pierre, South Dakota: 6 hours.
The trip out took 23 hours. I slept approximately two of those, as did my father. So, we arrived in Bloomington haggard and smelly. Fortunately, the hotel let us into our room early, and we were able to shower and change before heading over to Bethany House. I met my editor, Karen, and had lunch with her and a few other folks before taking Jacob to the Mall of America, who enjoyed the indoor roller coaster.
In a few minutes we’ll be heading to South Dakota for a couple days of research, then to the Badlands and Mount Rushmore before making the trek home.
I Must Be Doing Something Wrong
When I returned from ICRS, I went to visit Marilyn, a dear friend of mine who happens to devour books by the dozens each month. She reads a wide variety of Christian fiction, but has her favorites, like Jan Karon and Francine Rivers. And then proceeds to tell me about Ever After, a tear-jerker of a book by Karen Kingsbury.
That wasn’t the part that got to me.
“Kay and I were talking about how Karen Kingsbury wrote this book in one week,” she told me, and then added, “Kay said, ‘Don’t tell Christa that.’”
I’ve heard each book gets easier (after the second!), but I’m almost 100% certain I won’t ever be in the book-a-week club. I can spend a week on one sentence. Literally. And I have. I honestly have no idea how people can write books in a matter of weeks. My brain would probably explode.
Okay, that’s my pity party for the day. Now I have to go take care of my fussy, 7-month-old nephew, make lunch for my son, somehow fit a shower in (yeah, I know it’s after noon), pack for South Dakota, finish a graphic design project that I’ve been working on for the past two days straight (which needs to be done before I leave for South Dakota), and write my 2,000 words today.
Nope, no novels-in-a-week for me.
Photo by Aldo Gonzalez; used under the Creative Commons license.
Book Launch
Home Another Way Book Launch and Signing
Saturday, October 4th at the Lighthouse Christian Bookstore
4 S Western Ave, #3
Queensbury, NY, 12804
10 a.m. to noon.
I’ll be signing books, which will be available for sale at a discounted price of $10. Hope to see you there!
If You Need Character Ideas…
…take public transportation.
I arrived in Orlando on Saturday planning to take a cab – about $25 – to my hotel. But, 
I’m cheap, and after I picked up my suitcase and made my way downstairs, I saw the Orlando public bus. So, I popped online to see if the bus would take me to the hotel. The destination planner instructed me to get on bus #42. I look up and, lo and behold, #42 is pulling into the parking spot. And I’m on my way to the Peabody for $1.75 and 90 minutes of my time.
I didn’t mind the length of the ride because it gave me a chance to people watch. I love characters, as any reader of my blog probably knows by now – I want the people I write to be real, to be someone I could meet on the bus one day. And so, many of the little details I add come from actual people; when I see an interesting mannerism, here an odd pet phrase, notice a unique physical feature, I write it down to use in my writing sometime later. But I don’t simply assign random pieces to my characters; these things have to fit with the person.
Be observant. I know I tend to focus on two or three things about a person – and it’s never his face or name. I remember a small mole by the corner of someone’s mouth, especially if it looks like it’s dancing each time she talks. I remember lipstick on someone’s teeth or an egg-shaped toe, or cracking knuckles. All these things add a extra dimension to my characters, and keep them from becoming “just another pastor” or “just another urban sophisticate.” It turns them into someone sitting next to me on the bus.
Super Signing – ICRS 2008
I met David Tyree.
I’m guessing most of you are scratching your heads and asking, “Who?” But, if you happen to be, like me, a huge New York Giants fan (or a New England Patriots fan – hahahaha), or even if you’re simply sports literate, you know who I’m talking about.
“Who?” my mother asked when I called home after Tyree signed an excerpt of his new book, More Than Just a Catch: The True Story of Courage, Hope, and Achieving the Impossible. I had been calling to talk to my father, but he wasn’t home and she was, so she got to hear the story first. She, by the way, *hates* football.
“David Tyree, Mom. The guy who won the Superbowl for us. Who caught a 32-yard-pass on fourth-and-five with, like, a minute left in the game. David Tyree, who plucked the ball out of the air and smooshed it against if helmet, the one Eli Manning threw after breaking a bunch of sack attempts. You know, Mom. David Tyree.”
“Oh, right. That guy. I have no idea who you’re talking about.”
Neither did my roommates, my agent, or any of the Bethany House editorial staff I ate lunch with.
I did, eventually, get to tell my dad about it, who – I have to say – was thoroughly impressed. For all those who are out of the loop, well, here’s a an excellent refresher.
It’s David Tyree. Come on.
