Feb 14 2024

Valentine’s Day Gift: That’s the Ticket!

Author: Jamie DeBree

I wrote a bit of short fiction for you today. Enjoy!

That’s the Ticket

Five years ago on Valentine’s Day, I met the man who would make all my dreams come true.

It had been raining all day, and the only color on main street were the pink and red splashes that lined most of the shop windows along the way. I felt as gray as the weather, walking alone in a dress I couldn’t afford and now, given its bedraggled state, couldn’t return. He stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb in our small town, rushing down the sidewalk with a pointless newspaper held over his head in that expensive suit soaking up moisture as fast as it fell from the sky.

I’ve never played football, but when he rammed into me shoulder-first, sending me flying a few feet back and right up against the thick trunk of a sturdy tree, I was pretty sure I knew what it was like to be tackled by a line-backer.

He did stop to make sure I was okay, though he was obviously perturbed at the delay. I was perturbed at being thrown into a tree, and received a very polite apology before he took off again.

I think about him every year on this day. I go stand on that corner, snap a selfie under that tree, and I wonder where he is and how he’s doing. My friends and I toss back a shot in his honor, knowing that he doesn’t know my name and probably has no memory of me or that brief encounter that changed my life forever.

I’m guessing he doesn’t remember the lottery ticket I lifted from his suit jacket, either.

Dec 29 2023

Year in Review: 2023

Author: Jamie DeBree

Well That Was…Something.

You may want a snack and a beverage…it’s gonna be a long one. 🙂

This past year has been the weirdest and least productive I can remember in recent history. That includes 2020. Looking back at my resolutions and goals, it was mostly a bust, with pockets of unexpected and redefined success. But that’s not unsurprising considering how much of this past year revolved around medical procedures, including the anxiety leading up to them and various significant side effects after that added to my recovery times.

In many ways, it was a “lost” year as far as doing the things I want/like to do, but for the most part, the medical concerns that have been plaguing/distracting me for the past three years have been resolved and/or explained, which is good. I have some residual issues that will either heal or they won’t, but they’re things I can live with whether or not they improve, so I have zero plans to interact with medical personnel next year with the exception of my optometrist, because I really need a new pair of glasses, and my dentist for the normal preventative stuff (and that’s only ’cause I like and trust him…otherwise I’d be skipping that too, honestly).

On the other hand, I’ve experienced a few significant mental shifts as well, and those are really shaping my perception of the future and what direction I want to take things moving forward. One of my goals was to cultivate better impulse control, which I pretty much failed at. But I’m well aware of it and I’ll definitely be working harder at reigning that in for the long term.

The fact that I made a goal of 6 hours sleep per night is laughable – my sleep has been all sorts of messed up this year with over 12 weeks combined surgical recovery, and even now, some nights I can’t get comfortable. Add the absolute gem of menopause & hot flashes waking me up mid-sleep to the mix, and I’m doing really well to sleep a full 5 hours in any given night…and even luckier if I don’t pinch a nerve doing it.

Needless to say, I’ve given up on sleep goals. I gave up trying to get to bed before 1am as well, and now the “quiet time” I had scheduled for 11:30pm – 12:30am runs from around midnight to 1am. It’s working for me, and that’s a resolution I did successfully keep, which was to spend an hour every night planning for the next day and then reading before bed. So that’s a “loss-win” combo.

Speaking of reading – see that empty white rack in the photo above? That was overflowing with comic books at the beginning of the year. One of my goals (not resolutions) was to read a comic book every morning to get caught up with several year’s worth of back issues, and…that was a resounding success! The only unread comic books I have now are the larger graphic novel formats, a Spider-Man huge issue I plan to read this weekend, and then a few more Spider-Man and Venom issues that are now in my hall TBR rack. Which is where my new issues will all go from now on, because I am officially caught up! Huzzah!

I did not meet my goal of journaling daily, but I did start the year journaling, and I’m ending the year having discovered I like “art journaling” (a cross between traditional journal writing and scrapbooking, basically), and while I don’t have a definite schedule for it (yet), that will continue on into the new year with me.

My exercise goals were thrown way, way off track (and down a hill, as I couldn’t even do yoga for long stretches of time), so that was a complete bust, and I’m both heavier and more out of shape than I have been in quite awhile (currently rehabbing a wrist that atrophied more than I realized during “recoveries”, and then got strained when I started lifting weights again). Alas, there wasn’t really any way to avoid that, so…onward, with more movement in the new year.

As for my writing goals…I started out okay and then with everything else going on, I found myself trying and repeatedly failing every night during my allotted writing time. I just…couldn’t, mentally speaking. It sucked. I found myself seriously considering quitting for the first time in a long time – giving up the business name and packing it in.

Which is where one of the more significant mental shifts comes in, and I’ll talk about that more next week.

Financially, I’m not anywhere near where I wanted to be by now, but…medical expenses. Next year will be better. I also spent more than I should have on things like my rediscovered love of fishkeeping and plants, but I’m not going to feel guilty about that. This year wasn’t a good one, financially, and I’m just going to keep working on it and hopefully have better luck (and less medical issues) in the coming year.

All that said, this time last year, I was in a much worse place, constantly worrying about the near constant pain I was in, anxious about what would happen in the coming weeks, and feeling like a total failure for being unable to focus on anything productive and *yet again* having gone through another year without publishing anything.

This year, I’m in a far better place both physically and mentally, and I’m looking toward the next year with a healthy optimism and plans for making it much more productive. And even without any of the successes above, that would make this year a win.

Next week, my resolutions, goals and plans for 2024. I think I’m gonna need a (new) pair of shades. 😉

How was your year? Did you accomplish any goals you might have had, or learn something while missing them? What are your goals and/or plans for the next year?

That’s it for this week! If you have a favorite thing to share, or want to recommend a book, TV show, video or podcast, comment below, email me at jamie@jamiedebree.com, or catch up with me on Facebook or Instagram.

Jun 22 2023

Game Therapy

Author: Jamie DeBree

Photo of the Week

My Elvenar Elven city: “Bitteroot”

On Stress and Gaming

Last week was very stressful, mostly because a lot of things happened that I didn’t like/couldn’t control. I tend to be a control freak, and not being able to change what/how things were happening was…well, I let it stress me out more than I should have. It didn’t help that it wasn’t just one thing, but several different things spanning both work and personal life, and it all just seemed chaotic and frustrating. This week has been better, but still not awesome (hence the lateness of this post).

I could have screamed, yelled, and possibly gotten my way on a few things, making everyone around me miserable in the process. And my attitude certainly wasn’t what it should be, by any means. But instead of going postal, I did what anyone who enjoys playing games tends to do, and downloaded two more titles to my phone (I prefer gaming on my phone, because I’m too lazy to boot up a console or get my laptop from the home office in the evenings).

I didn’t realize it was a coping mechanism at first. I saw a couple titles I’d been interested in for awhile, and my brain latched on and decided that it was time to finally try them. I play Pokemon Go almost daily, but I’ve been playing for awhile (has it really been 5 years?!), and you really have to get out and about to play that for any length of time. The two I downloaded (Elvenar and Merge Dragons) are “sit down and grind for task completion” sort of games, with strategy and puzzle-solving as the “grind”.

Once I realized that I was using the games as a coping mechanism, I started to wonder why. They’re two completely different games for the most part, but one thing they have in common is clearly defined long-term goals and shorter daily tasks. Completing the short tasks is what seemed to ease my stress.

A dopamine hit, obviously (due to the rewards gained for task completion), but also completing tasks “closed the loop” and made me feel like I was in control of “something”, however small or insignificant. And much of my stress was being caused by other people not closing the loop or finishing things the way I thought they ought to be completed (that’s not to say what they did was wrong, necessarily, it just wasn’t what I wanted or thought *should* be done).

In short, being in control of what happened in the games (yes, I know that’s an illusion, but my subconscious brain doesn’t) made me feel better and more able to ignore what I couldn’t control in the real world while I tried to figure out what (if anything) to do about it.

Now that I’ve calmed down a bit and figured out how I want to proceed in actually dealing with most of the various stressors, I’m already scaling way back on Merge Dragons (I find a lot of repetitive/matching games boring pretty quickly). I don’t actually have a lot of time for gaming, and my eyes really can’t handle all the screen time I’ve been putting in for this little mental “temper tantrum”, so I can’t keep up this sort of gaming “pace”.

I’ll continue playing Elvenar for awhile at least. It’s more of a “jump in, complete a few tasks, and jump out again” type long-term strategy game, with lots of different content to keep it fresh.

All in all, I think the discovery process of the last week and a half has been interesting, and I always see this sort of introspection as good “research” for future character development. So, aside from the strain of stress and irritation, win-win for me.

Writing News

I didn’t write much last week – I didn’t really have (give myself) the mental space, what with all the stressing out and gaming. But I did do something I think is equally important. I went back through all my various notes on the Magpie series, and reminded myself why I want to write it. I also started sort of building an outline, which is something I normally don’t do, but I feel like I could really benefit from changing up the way I write – at least for this series.

There’s just so much I’ve already thought out, and that means more to keep track of from the outset. I like “just writing” and seeing what happens, but I do not like getting to the end of the draft and realizing that I didn’t find the actual story until I got to the end. Rewriting an entire story is…daunting, to say the least. But, so does outlining, in a different way, so…just coming at it from a different angle.

So, I’m going to try a different process, and see how it goes. I have the Plottr software, and the writing software I currently use has a plot grid outline included as well. I think I’ll use Workflowy for most of the outline initially (I use Workflowy for pretty much everything note or planning related), and then move it into whichever formal outline “spot” seems like it’ll work best.

I also went back through some notes I have on a few short-story collections I want to work on. I’m going to spend a little time each week on those, because I can’t work on just one project all the time, or I get bored. So that will be a good compliment to/break from the Magpie world.

Now I just need to set some reasonable deadlines. I’ve been letting myself just “skate” for too long now. It’s time to get busy and actually get some books written and published again.

Recommendation(s)

I just finished reading The Portrait by Antoine Laurain. It’s a fun and kind of twisted little tale by a French author (translated – it’s been a long time since I could read reliably in French). It’s a short book big on drama. If you can find a copy, I think you’ll find it very intriguing.

Mar 28 2023

First Quarter Well-Fillers (Reading/Watching/Listening)

Author: Jamie DeBree

This is going to be a bit long, so you might want to get yourself a nice beverage and get comfy.

I’ve been doing a much better job of protecting my nightly reading time this year, and I’m actually finishing books! Yay! So I thought I’d do a quarterly report of what I’ve read/am currently reading, in case you see anything you might like. I’ll also add what I’ve watched or am currently watching below, in case that’s of interest as well.

Two of the novels below are first person narratives, which I didn’t used to enjoy at all. I’m finding I have more tolerance for them the more I’m exposed, though they still aren’t my first choice. As storytelling changes, I find I have to as well, as more authors are using first person these days, and I’ve been experimenting with writing in it myself (as one of my pen names) just to keep up. Jury’s still out on whether it will be a long-term thing for me or not.

I’ve read two novels this quarter, and am well into a third, all of which are engaging and entertaining in their own ways. Here are my thoughts on each, with no spoilers (because that would just be wrong).

Bloodless by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

I love pretty much everything by these guys, though I’ll admit, I had a bit of a hard time getting into this one. It seemed to move slower at the start than normal for them, though the pacing at the beginning did match the overall “deep south” vibe. It definitely picked up toward the middle, and raced to the end. And it was very intriguing to finally learn more about Constance, such a long-running enigma in this world.

There was one side-plot that both took me aback, and made me squint a bit at the pages. I’m still not sure I’m completely on board with it, and…well…I may never be. The ending is also a big “huh?!” moment, that could and should have major implications on the series going forward, so I’m anxious to see how that turns out in the next book (The Cabinet of Dr. Leng). Which I have to wait a year for, because it’s only out in hardback and I hate reading hardbacks. Stupid publishing idiocy.

All of You by Elisa Lorello

Elisa is currently one of our local authors and a huge Duran Duran fan, so I picked this music-themed romance up at our local bookstore expecting a nice band-oriented romp, and instead got an orchestra of emotional angst that built to a crescendo of growth and healing for the characters. I was up late more than once for “just one more chapter” because I wanted to know what happened next.

If you love angsty romance, music, and some comfy pop culture references for those of us who are a bit older, grab a copy. I think you’ll be surprised at how much depth it contains. Or maybe not, if you’ve read Elisa’s books before.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

I haven’t read The Martian yet, though I know we have a copy somewhere. This one was close to the top of my TBR pile, so I decided to give it a go. There’s a lot of mystery in the beginning, that could easily get frustrating in a hurry, but Weir does a great job of not letting things hang too long before moving the story along. I’ve just reached a somewhat confusing point where I go back and forth between hopeful and hopeless as the story bounces around the timeline, and I’m compelled to keep reading not just as a reader who wants to see “what happens next”, but also as an author who is insanely curious where the story will end up, from a craft/storytelling point of view.

We’ll see, for sure. I just really need to set an alarm to put the book down in time to get ample sleep…because that hasn’t been happening lately.

The Comic Book TBR Project

You may or may not remember, but one of my resolutions this year is to get through the insane stack of comic books in my “to be read” pile. I sort of stopped reading comic books sometime in 2019 (due to a lot of stress going on at the time), but I never stopped amassing them (I have a pull-list with my local comic shop that I go retrieve every month or so). To meet my goal, I’ve tasked myself to read one comic book before work every weekday, and I’ve been succeeding admirably with that (two on days I take off work). It also tends to start my day on a more creative note than just thinking about everything I need to get done, so win-win there!

That said, here’s a run-down of my progress on the various series I read:

Harley Quinn: Issues 71-75, 1-10 (next run)
I’m not digging the artwork on this particular run. The story is okay, though not awesome, but the artwork is really detracting, in my opinion. But, it makes for a quicker read, since I’m not overly concerned with taking in the details of every panel. So there’s that.

Deadpool: Issues 4-10, Issues 1-3 (current run – caught up, yay!)
I love Deadpool. I love Jeff the Shark. ‘Nough said.

Daredevil: Issues 18-30
This is a very philosophically deep run of Daredevil, with a lot of moral and ethical pondering by both our hero, and Electra, who is filling in for him temporarily. It’s very thought-provoking, and the art style is gritty and very well-matched to the story.

I Hate Fairyland: Issues 1-3 (current run)
If you like an insane amount of “so dramatic it’s obviously not real” blood-spatter, and the constant juxtaposition of overly-sweet with horribly-sour, this series is for you. Start with the first one though, not the current run (you can get them in book-form too). You need the background of the first runs to appreciate the current one. You’ll either love it or hate it – there’s no in-between with this one.

The Amazing Spider-Man: Issues 25-35
When I first started reading comic books, I was doing research, because I thought it would be fun to write a novel about the owner of a comic book shop (McKenzie Saves the World). I also wanted to know if I was potentially missing out on something great. I wanted to pick one major superhero to follow, and after reading a sampling of the big ones (Batman, Captain America, Superman, Spider-man, etc), I settled on Spider-Man. I’ve been reading ever since, and while the plot goes a bit wonky occasionally, for the most part, I enjoy the web-slinger’s more casual attitude about his odd life and I appreciate the off-beat humor at inopportune times. This run has an interesting plot going, but the recent issues have been in the 2099 mini-crossover-series and it’s…a bit weird. Maybe because I’m not really reading much of the other comic series involved. Luckily, it’s only a few issues and then back to normal, so no biggie. Happens all the time in comics.

Venom: Issues 1-11
This run seems very…Gaiman-esqe to me. It’s sometimes confusing, and I really don’t know if I’m enjoying it or just hanging in there because I’m curious how the writers are going to get themselves out of the seriously loopy weird symbiote loop they’ve gotten themselves into. We’ll see, I guess.

Predator: Issue 1
I read this as a trial run…it’s the current series. It was okay, but not really my thing. I don’t plan on getting any more.

Two Graves: Issue 1
This was a one-off trial run too, and I’m interested in reading more, but by the time I got back to the comic shop, they didn’t have any of the subsequent issues. I might see if they can order the rest of the series in for me when I go this month. The art style is really nice, and the story is quite enigmatic.

TV/Movies

We’re watching quite a few series at the moment, and honestly, I’d recommend all of them. I love it when there’s so much good TV on! Here’s what we’re currently watching, divided by where they are so you can find them if you wish:

CBS/Paramount +
NCIS, Season 20 (and yes, we’ve watched them all!)
The Equalizer, Season 3
Picard, Season 3

Netflix
Shadow & Bone, Season 2

Disney +
The Mandalorian, Season 3

As for movies, we haven’t watched anything super-exciting lately, but we are definitely planning a date to see John Wick 4 in the near future.

Music

Not much to report here, except that I am looking forward to getting copies of Theory of a Deadman’s Dinosaur and Pop Evil’s Skeletons very soon. I think I’ll get them on vinyl, and hopefully a digital copy as well. We also have two new LPs from Vinyl Moon to spin. Now that the storage unit project is winding down, we should have time to do that very soon!

Now it’s your turn! What are you reading, watching or listening to? Anything noteworthy? Comment wherever you’re reading this, or reply to the email – I’m always looking to add to my “To Read/Watch/Listen” lists!

Sep 13 2022

On Shelf & Screen in September 2022

Author: Jamie DeBree

It’s been awhile since I could read for pleasure, but having finished my duties as an award judge, I’m finally getting back to my “normal” book fare. And the contemporary romance novel I’m reading right now is Rainy Day Friends by Jill Shalvis.

I love Jill’s stories – they’re funny and heartwarming and her heroines are real and down-to-earth, for the most part. They’re almost like a palate cleanser for me – in life, not just in the book sphere. She’s one of my “always buy” authors, and while I’m not too far into this one yet (a couple chapters), I’m already loving it. If you are one of those people for whom anxiety is a very real and crippling ailment, you’ll definitely identify with Lanie Jacobs, the main character.

Next on my to-read list for romance:
The Gilded Girl by Pamela Kelley, which is supposed to be a “Cinderella story – sort of.”

As for other entertainment, I’m still working my way through The Good Witch TV series on Netflix (originally Hallmark). I love Catherine Bell’s character, and the whole series has been/is loosely inspiring for the core part of my Magpie, MT project. I like the relationship interplay and chemistry between the characters a lot, as well as the slower pace of the overall story – a nice change from all the fast-paced shows I normally watch.

The last romantic movie I watched was on Netflix also – A Perfect Pairing. It’s a romance set “down under” in Australia involving both sheep ranching and wine that was cute, amusing, and a relaxing way to spend an hour and 40 minutes or so.

What are you reading, watching, or listening to this month? You can reply here on the blog, reply to the email (if you’re a blog subscriber), or comment on your favorite form of social media. Don’t be afraid to jump in – I’d love to hear from you and add your recommendations to my lists!

Jul 19 2022

Book Chat: A Non-Fiction Interlude

Author: Jamie DeBree

Reading List:
Secret Non-Fiction books

Last month, I was asked if I wanted to be a judge for a regional book awards contest, and I said yes. Which is how I came to be taking an extended reading interlude into the non-fiction book realm. While I can’t talk about the books I’m reading, it did get me thinking about the last non-fiction book(s) I’ve read. Here are the last three:

Newsletter Ninja by Tammi Labrecque
How to Become a Dictator by Kevin J. Anderson & Martin L. Shoemaker
15-Minute Dictation by Sean M. Platt and Neeve Silver

Needless to say, I’ve been studying up on how to write faster, and keep in touch with readers more efficiently. And I can highly recommend any of the above books if those are things you’re interested in (the second one is *not* instructions on how to take over a country, or any other group of people – sorry!).

I’ve only published one non-fiction book, which is the featured cover this week: Flash 52: 52 Writing Prompts for a Year of Flash Fiction (clearly not a “flash” title). But it does sell a few copies most months (and it’s on sale at Smashwords this month), so hopefully some people are finding it helpful. I’m considering doing some more things with prompts, actually. Lord knows I have far too many ideas and far too little time to get to them all.

What’s the latest non-fiction book you’ve read? Or are you a strictly fiction reader?

If you write non-fic, what’s the latest book you’ve written?

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Jun 14 2022

Book Chat – June 14, 2022

Author: Jamie DeBree

Reading List
The Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz (cozy mystery)
In Defense of Plants by Matt Candeias, PhD (non-fic)
The Hand in the Dark by Arthur J. Rees

I’m half done with The Magpie Murders, after a spate of reading, followed by nearly a year-long break, and now a couple months more of steady progress. I’m not normally a cozy-mystery reader, but this book sounded interesting and a little different. My husband read it, and he liked it quite a lot, which is why I decided to give it a try.

The way it hit my brain is rather odd, because when I put it down the first time, I’d read nearly half, and decided it just wasn’t really grabbing me. But when I picked it up after all that time away, I could easily remember everything that had been happening when I left off, which isn’t normal even for books I’m really enjoying. I normally have to go back quite a ways to pick up in something I’ve left that long (or just start over), but I easily just picked up the thread and kept reading with this one.

So the mystery stuck with me, even though it didn’t feel like it would. And then…I got to another part that reminded me that it’s actually a story within a story, which was disorienting again.

It’s…just a bit odd.

Have you read it? Did you like it?

In Defense of Plants is just a really beautiful little book. I started reading it on Earth Day and then put it down when I picked up The Magpie Murders again, but I have no intention of leaving it unfinished. The writing flows easily, the illustrations are gorgeous, and even just the whole feel of the book from the cover to the page paper is aesthetically pleasing to me. More books should be published like this, with so much care to the package as a whole. I really just love picking it up, honestly.

The Hand in the Dark was included with the big box of antique books I got for $20 at our local bookstore (see last week’s post), as an example of the types of books that would be included in the box. I’ve only just read the first chapter, but I’m excited already. There’s a house with a long and spectacular history of burning and rebuilding and defense and generational warring…all on a patch of land surrounded by a moat (naturally).

I’m both intrigued and anxious to find out what’s coming next!

What are you reading? Anything interesting I should add to my TBR pile?

Apr 05 2022

Variety News, April 5, 2022 – Reading & Poetry Month

Author: Jamie DeBree

Photo of the Week

My poetry stash for National Poetry Month 2022.

General Discussion

I have an issue (you know what I mean). I’ve been reading again, but I don’t start until after my late-night writing time, which means not until around midnight.

I know all you other readers out there just cringed along with me (unless you’re retired and time has no meaning).

I’ve been staying up way too late (in some cases, way, way too late), and not getting enough sleep, which leaves me irritable (at best) and sometimes virtually non-functional (at worst) the next day. Needless to say, it isn’t sustainable. But I need to read – not only do I enjoy reading (obviously), but I need to keep refilling the creative well I draw from when I’m writing and doing other creative activities. I just…can’t open a book when I need to be in bed half an hour later. Because I lack self-control, especially when I’m tired, and there’s a lot of action going on in the story that I can’t possibly put down until I get to a good stopping point…which…might not happen for another chapter or five.

You see my problem.

I did have an idea I may well try this next week. I could put a wall timer on the lamp in my office, and set it to come on at 10pm, and go off at 12am (or a little after). When the light goes off, I go to bed. Treating myself like the rebellious child I apparently am (when it comes to bedtime, at least). I’ll let you know if it works or not.

On a brighter note, April is National Poetry Month, and as you can see by the photo above, I grabbed a stack of interesting-sounding poetry books at the bookstore last Friday to facilitate some serious poetry reading this month.

I don’t consider myself much of a poet, but I’ll be writing poetry this month, because it’s always good to stretch yourself creatively, and poetry is actually pretty fun if you don’t take yourself too seriously.

I’m also going to be working on my short story currently in progress, and replacing the old restaurant booth I currently write in with a proper desk and chair setup. More on that in a couple of weeks.

I feel like April is going to be a good, productive, and transformative month. I hope so, at least.

Currently Reading
Poetry: I’m starting with Tami Haaland’s Breath in Every Room. Tami is one of our very distinguished Montana poets – you can check out her site at httpss://www.tamihaaland.com/

Video Highlight
You might need an Instagram account for this one (sorry), but Orna Ross does a neat “1 of Mine & 1 of Yours” feature on the platform that is one of her poems, and a poem from the winner of the #indiepoetryplease contest held each week. I really enjoyed last week’s poems, so I hope you’ll go check them out as well.
httpss://www.instagram.com/tv/Cakc_BRoLQn/

Song of the Week
Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott, set to music by Loreena McKennett: httpss://youtu.be/80-kp6RDl94
Beautiful and somewhat haunting, methinks.

Pop Quiz!
What time of day is your favorite for reading?

I love to read late at night, when the world is quiet and I can really sink into the story (or poem, as it were). Comic books are the only exception – I have really weird dreams when I read comic books before bed, so I tend to prefer those earlier in the day. Weird, I know.

Post Round-up
The Writer’s Desk (last updated: April 3, 2022)

Apr 16 2019

On Reading, Time, & Creativity

Author: Jamie DeBree

It’s been a long, very busy couple of weeks, and things are just starting to get back to normal (though I hesitate to say that, because you know what happens next…). Hence the no blogging thing. I don’t really know how to describe it, and I haven’t really been in a “funk”, so to speak, just…treading water and trying to get my routines back to where they should be. Only every time I think it’s gonna happen, something else happens, and I get waylaid, and then my routines get all screwy and I don’t get anything done at all.

It’s annoying.

The other thing that’s annoying is picking up a box of books free from a former co-worker who was cleaning out her shelves, and staring at the box in my living room wondering when I’ll ever have time to read them all.

I used to be a voracious reader. A typical paperback would take me two, maybe three nights to finish…maybe four if it was incredibly thick. Now the same size books take me weeks to finish, and it’s generally because I short-change my very limited reading time with writing or just getting ready for bed (after staying up too late writing or whatever). Fifteen minutes a night is okay for short stories and such, but it really stretches a novel out to turn-around times bordering on the ridiculous.

Needless to say, I’ve been having trouble sitting down and writing, too. There are some writers out there who insist they just don’t have time to read, but I firmly believe that reading is important for writing – they go hand in hand. You have to fill the well, so to speak. Creativity in, creativity out. And I’ve definitely been neglecting my “well”.

What to do, what to do? The obvious answer is to read more. But when?

Well, I’m not sure. I have a few ideas, but need to see if they’ll work with existing routines, which is not always as easy as it sounds. But I have a feeling that if I get back to reading more, writing more will come naturally as well. Or I hope it will, anyways.

Books I have currently in progress are: a short story/poem collection by Neil Gaiman, and “About that Kiss” by Jill Shalvis.

What are you reading? And if you’re a writer, do you think how much (or little) you read affects how much or little you write?

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Nov 19 2014

Talkin’ Books: November 19, 2014

Author: Jamie DeBree

Books Finished:
Moon Shine by Vivian Arend

Kindle Books In Progress:
One in a Million by Jill Shalvis
Tatterdemon by Steve Vernon

Print Books in Progress:
Invasive Species by Joseph Wallace
Johnny the Homicidal Maniac: Director’s Cut

Comic Books:
Harley Quinn #11

It’s been a good week for books/reading. As I mentioned last week, I finished the 11th issue of Harley Quinn after I finished writing/scheduling that post, and it was…interesting, what with Power Girl in the mix. I’m not sure I like her, but we’ll see. And then there’s the new guy, fresh out of prison. Harley seems to like him…

I also promised to let you know if I found the creepy in Invasive Species. Boy did I! If you read this blog regularly, you know we had an issue with paper wasps this summer, and I was stung several times. Those insects made life…interesting for three months, and I’m glad they’re most certainly frozen now. This book though…oh yes. This book brings back memories and then magnifies them times ten, and I’m not even a quarter done yet. Should be a freaky ride!

No freakier than Johnny the Homicidal Maniac though, of course. Read a couple more of those stories, and I just want to give the kid a scritch behind the ears. As you do, with pets…

As you can see, I then took a bit of a break from the freak-fest and indulged in the last Takhini Wolves series by Vivian Arend, Moon Shine. I actually had myself a little mini-binge last Friday night when the hubby had to work late, and read the whole thing before I went to bed. I’m sure it surprises no one to learn that when it comes to paranormal tropes, I’m a werewolf girl, and I always enjoy Vivian’s books. Never read one I didn’t, actually. And this one was just as excellent and emotionally charged as the rest. With a bonus bear-shifter included.

I also splurged on One in a Million, the last Lucky Harbor novel by Jill Shalvis, which was a major mistake, productivity wise, but man, I’m loving every word. So sweet and funny and heart-wrenching all at the same time… *sigh* I’m sad this is the last Lucky Harbor book, but she’s got more Animal Magnetism books coming out, and I enjoy those too. As long as she keeps writing, I’ll be a happy camper. And a less productive writer, but whatever. Writer’s gotta read…

So, like I said, good reading week. Hubby’s got a poker game this Friday night, so I’ll be on my own then as well. Maybe I’ll mainline Invasive Species while he’s gone…

Writer | DBA | Dog Wrangler

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