The Catching Fire Conspiracy

Catchy title, no? Here's the thing. A few weeks ago I bought The Hunger Games at Target because I was number 300+ on the library waiting list. While I was picking up Hunger Games in paperback (because us would-be writers can't afford hard cover), I noted that the second volume, Catching Fire, was also available in paperback. Good, I thought. If I like this first book I can come back and purchase the second. Fast forward to this weekend. Once I got to Hunger Games, I devoured it and was ready to move on to Catching Fire. I run to Target down the street and search around the stacked piles of hard cover volumes of the trilogy. Where are the paperbacks I saw? The clerk says they don't carry it. Hrmph. I go to Barnes and Noble (because my beloved Borders is no more) and see entire tables piled with Catching Fire in hard cover.

 "Excuse me, do you have Catching Fire in paperback?" I ask the clerk.

He doesn't make eye contact with me. "No, we don't have it in paperback. Never did. It doesn't exist."

It doesn't exist.

Suddenly I am forced to question my sanity. Did I really see what I thought I saw? Or have I become Ingrid Bergman in Gaslight who hears footsteps in the attic and trembles as the gaslights dim, but can't get anyone to confirm that they see it too. It's a conspiracy. It must be. Otherwise, I'm a crazy-haired woman with her face pressed against the bookstore glass seeking the unseekable, questing the unquestable, insisting on paperback when all the Good Lord has chosen to show me is hardbacks. As a last resort--because I'm still not much into this computer technology thingy--I search on Amazon for Catching Fire in paperback.

IT EXISTS!

I'm not crazy after all! I can only assume that the bookstores have yanked their paperback copies of Catching Fire from the shelves knowing that readers are eager for the next installment and are willing to pay any price for it.

I'm going to order the paperback copy even though the shipping costs bring it up to the hardback price in the store. Just to spite the stores. And because I like all the books in a series to match. My Harry Potter collection is an absolute mess.

In the meantime, I'm number 171 on the library waiting list at the library.

Current count

136 pages / 43,562 words

Sensual Writing

Stephanie Meyer managed to create tons of sexual tension while keeping her characters chaste, but I'm feeling quite stupid as I try to write a scene that involves two people dancing closely. Cliche, cliche, cliche! I'm hideously embarrassed and can already see that this will involve tons of rewriting. Dear readers, do you have any examples of sensual, non-explicit writing that I can learn from?

Currently Reading

Fiction: Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist.

I might not be able to finish this one, even though I'm intrigued, just like I couldn't finish Child 44. Brutality against children is too difficult. I will never be able to read The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, no matter how excellent the reviews.

Marines vs. Romans

This is a truly phenomenal story about how a guy with a big imagination went from being a complete unknown to internet superstar to being contacted about writing a big budget Hollywood screenplay in the space of a day! Congratulations to James Erwin.

The Tao of Po

It appears I'm on a Po Bronson kick because I'm enjoying the stories in What Should I do With My Life and I've already stopped telling my toddler how smart he is (read Nurture Shock to find out why). The story that hit closest to home was the one about the guy who just needed to be around other writers, which is my entire reason for wanting to get an MFA. I need the support and encouragement of other people who have similar goals because this writing schtick is lonely. I need a group to talk shop with. That guy, by the way, was Po Bronson. Po gets it. Maybe I  just like saying Po because it reminds me of Medea saying po-po.

Po (tee hee I said it again) has got a great list of books he recommends. His blurbs make me want to run out and read them. If you're looking for something to read, try this list: http://www.pobronson.com/index_books_I_recommend.htm

Current count

I'm disturbed to discover that since February 18th, I've only written 26 pages. I've reached a point where the initial excitement has faded and now I'm a little unsure of what to fill the middle part with. I already know the ending, but I have to write at least another hundred pages to get there. There is a multitude of possibilities and I'm having difficulty in deciding what the chararacters will do in the meantime. Speak, inspiration!

126 pages / 40,490 words