Readers And Writers Blog

Visa bills, nectarines, and bituminous concrete

/ R.J. Keller / 9 Comments

I don’t know if you’ve ever worked nights before. If you have, you know what I mean when I say my brain feels like cottage cheese a good portion of the week; namely during the day, when Cottage Cheese Brain is exactly what I don’t need. Important phone calls are not returned, car maintainence appointments are forgotten, and toenails frequently go unclipped for weeks at a time. In short my life, like my panty hose, is coming apart at the seams. The toe seams.

To combat this trend, last night I made a decision that goes against my nature. I decided to make a list. Not the kind that reminds me of all the bad things I’ve done that need to be set straight. No, the kind that reminds me of all of the necessary things I keep forgetting to do so I can keep my life straight. For example:

– Pay your Visa bill, you idiot!!!!!! It was due last Thursday!!!!!! Late fees!!!! Ack!!!!!

– There’s a bag of nectarines in the back of the crisper. It’s been there forever. Throw it way.

– You finished Adrift in America last week. You forgot to blog about it.

Now that my overdue Visa bill and soupy nectarines have been taken care of, it’s time to tell you guys about Sid Leavitt’s Adrift in America, a “diary of a minimalist mariner.”

In the late 1980s, Mr. Leavitt–having been unceremoniously let go from his editor’s job at a Portland, Maine newsaper–sold his house and most of his belongings, bought a truck, and set off to see America. It wasn’t wanderlust that inspired him…at least not mostly. He hit the road because he wanted to live deliberately; to live frugally and suck out all the bituminous concrete of life. He was looking for freedom, too, the kind that meant “being able to say ‘Fuck you’ to your boss and be out of town 10 minutes later with everything you own.” Oh, to know such freedom! But what I love most about this book is that we get a glimpse of everyday America. Not the touristy, post card America; but real towns with real people. The ones we overlook when we’re on vacation.

So check it out. It’s posted at Readers and Writers Blog, here by chapters and here in its entirety.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go clip my toenails.

Something old, something new, and a sweaty bear

/ R.J. Keller / 2 Comments

Well, I’m off to a roaring start on my “new” novel. In terms of word count I’m ahead of the game, which is cool, but even better is the fact that I’m really excited about how the story itself is going (although ask me next week and I might tell you that the story sucks, my writing sucks, and life in general sucks).

It’s called The Wendy House (yes, that’s a reference to Peter Pan) and it’s a prequel of sorts to Waiting for Spring. It tells the story of Brian’s parents, Wendy and Rick. The trick, of course, is that at the beginning of WFS Wendy has been dead for fourteen years, and anyone who’s read it will know that.

I wanted to explore the idea of someone being a mother vs being a person. Brian (in Waiting for Spring) has spent most of his life idealizing his mom, which is not an uncommon thing when someone loses a parent, and is even more intense than it normally would have been due to Rick’s irresponsibility; so the reader gets an idealized image of her. But I wanted to see what kind of person she really was, to see the actual person behind the idol that Brian will never know; because let’s face it, most of us never really know our parents as anyone other than Mom or Dad. I also wanted to get to know Rick better, to see where he came from, so as to understand how he got to the point he did (abandoning his kids after his wife’s death) without making excuses for him, which has also been very challenging.

Something else I’m enjoying this time around is showing a glimpse of a Maine mill town while the mills were actually running, when there was at least a modicum of prosperity, before everyone’s property was auctioned off to the highest out-of-state bidder. (Not that I’m bitter or anything.)

In my earlier post, I gave a link to a new writing blog I set up for posting information about this new project. I’ve decided to delete it, though. I’m having a hard enough time keeping this blog and my photo blog updated in between my writing, my family life, and my job-that-pays; I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up with another one. I’ll use this as my all-purpose blog. And, if you’re wondering why I haven’t had any recent convenience store customer stories it’s because I haven’t had many customers in the past week and a half. Our store is undergoing some very major construction, including the temporary removal of our gas pumps (check out some pictures here at my 365 photo blog) and as a result our business has dropped considerably. I almost posted a story of how my coworker “E” and I spent an entire overnight shift singing and dancing (very badly) to my new Coldplay CD, drinking Shirley Temples, and generally making complete asses of ourselves…but it really was a You Had To Be There experience.

Fear not! Construction is scheduled for completion in another four weeks or so, at which time we’ll have a Grand Reopening. Why should you care about that, when most of you don’t live within visiting distance? Because I’ve agreed to dress up in a teddy bear costume for the occasion. That’s right, I’m going stand by the road, completely covered in fur (in the mid-August heat), waving to drivers-by, trying to entice them into the store. I’ve been told that a fair amount of ass-shaking is expected of me as well. If I survive the ordeal, I’ll post a full report (complete with embarrassing pictures) here.

And now, speaking of Rick and his irresponsibility, Chapter 16 of Waiting for Spring (in which Brian has a chance to, um, confront his father) has been posted this morning at Readers and Writers Blog. Also new today is Chapter 28: The Garden of Eden of Ginny Good. Check ’em out.

A Tale of Two Winners

/ R.J. Keller / 3 Comments

Ah…the lottery. Here in Maine we sure do love it: Megabucks, Powerball, Paycheck, Pick 3/Pick 4…and, of course, scratch tickets. To say that the majority of lottery tickets are purchased by people who can ill afford them–and would be better off stuffing the money they spend on them in a sock (or in an interest accruing savings account)–is like saying the sky is blue. A big fat “duh.” So I’ll spare that lecture. Instead I’ll give you a personal glimpse into what I consider a big fat problem.

Winner #1:
Twenty-eight year old single mother of three. She works as a waitress in a restaurant one town over. Every night she uses $20 of her tip money to buy a scratch ticket. Yes, you read that right: one 20 dollar ticket. A few weeks ago she was fortunate enough to win $100. I was pretty excited for her, even though I know she spends more than that every week on the damned things. At least this week she’d make some of her money back. And what did she do with her winnings? Yep, you guessed it: she spent it all–that’s right…100 bucks!–on scratch tickets. Five 20 dollar tickets. And, of course, she won nothing. She blew $120 in one night for a big fat nothing. Then she bought milk and bread for her kids’ breakfast. With her food stamp card.

Winner #2:
Picture Steve Perry circa “Oh Sherry” with no top teeth, covered with tattoos and wearing biker clothes; that’s Winner #2. Every day he buys a twelve pack of Miller High Life, three packs of Mavericks, and a five dollar scrach ticket. Last Saturday he won $1000, which is pretty cool. There was a problem, though. I can’t cash a ticket that high. He had to go into Augusta to claim the money.

“Oh…the state has to get involved?”

“Well, yeah.”

“That won’t work. I owe child support and they’d take it all for that.”

I didn’t say what I was thinking, which was: Good for them, you cheap, selfish bastard. I just nodded.

“But,” he continued, “you could always go down there and turn it in for me.”

“No I couldn’t.”

“Sure you could. I’ll give you a hundred bucks.”

“Nope.”

“Plus gas money.”

“Nope.”

“Two hundred?”

“No.”

“Fine.” Then he walked out the door. In a huff.

I worked yesterday morning (in addition to my overnight shifts, I now work Saturday mornings as well) and Winner #2 came in. He hauled four twelve packs of Michelob Light over to the counter and asked for five cartons of Marlboro. Then he brought out his wallet, which was filled with a huge wad of twenty dollar bills.

“Someone cashed your ticket in for you?” I asked.

“Yep.”

“How much did you have to give them.”

He scowled before he admitted: “Half.”

And there he was, spending it on cigarettes and beer while his ex-wife struggled to get child support from the asshole. Oh, and he bought a five dollar scratch ticket. It wasn’t a winner.

* And now, as a bonus–and because I don’t want you to think that all Mainers are ignorant hicks–allow me to present:

Winner #3
A family of three. Hubby and wife are in their late twenties, the kid is about four. Both parents have decent paying jobs but still struggle to make ends meet. A few weekends ago, the family was out together and popped into the store to buy a bottle of Bug Juice for the kid. He looked up with eager eyes at the scratch tickets in front of him. He was particularly enthralled with Mustang Money, a five dollar ticket.

“Mommy, can you buy the car ticket?”

“No. I don’t waste money on scratch tickets.”

“Please? Please, please, please??”

This went on for a few moments before she finally capitulated. She even let him do the scratching. We all smiled when he won five dollars.

“Another one!” he said.

“No. You should save this money.”

“Please? Please, please, please??”

“Tell you what,” Dad said. “You save two dollars and spend the rest on that ticket right there.”

He pointed to Tic Tac Toe, a three dollar ticket. The kid could see the logic in this, so he agreed. He scratched his brand new ticket…and won $300. Naturally, he wanted another ticket. Fortunately his parents knew when to say when. They gave the kid fifty bucks to spend on toys at Walmart, and set up a savings account for him with the rest. Hurrah for small miracles.

*********************

If you’re interested in reading about Mainers of the fictional variety, head over to Readers and Writers Blog for Chapter 15 of Waiting for Spring. Also new there today is Chapter 27: Sutro Heights of Gerard Jones’ Ginny Good. This chapter made me cry. Poor Melanie…

Warning: Book Geek Alert

/ R.J. Keller / 11 Comments
On Tuesday my kids and I went to Borders. I prefer to support independent bookstores, I really do. But I had a car appointment in Bangor and with gas prices being so high it’s always wise to consolidate trips. Besides, I had a 30% coupon and it’s never a good thing to let those puppies go to waste.

I have to admit I was pretty excited. I’ve been on a good roll book-wise recently (Marcus Zusak’s The Book Thief, Gerard Jones’ Ginny Good, Jasper Fford’s Thursday Next series, Virgina Woolf’s The Waves–99 cents at Goodwill) so I had high hopes of finding something worthy of my coupon. Oh, if only that were the case.

I browsed every section in the store. I picked up Jeff Shaara’s new WW2 epic The Steel Wave, but discovered that it was part 2 in a trilogy, and that I hadn’t even heard that Part 1 (The Rising Tide) came out a year and a half ago. Where have I been? I decided to save ’em for winter. Next I flipped through The Way Life Should Be. I’ve heard good things about it, and it’s set in Maine, which is cool (although wealthy, tourist-y Mount Desert Island isn’t the Maine I know)…but I wasn’t really in the mood for the whole “characters cooking Italian food” thing. At least, not while I’m trying to lose weight. I even debated a Star Wars visual dictionary (shut up.)

Nothing appealed to me. A large display of sherbert colored chick lit novels mocked me. Ha ha ha! We’re here taking up space that should be reserved for the kind of books you like… I wanted to kick them, but I didn’t. With my luck I’d damage one–or more–of the inane things and end up having to actually pay good money for them. God forbid.

My kids, on the other hand, took only 39.3 seconds to find the next 3 books in the Warrior Cats series they’ve been devouring for the past several months. I was jealous. They were anxious to leave. I grabbed a Coldplay CD (Excellent, by the way. The three of us listened to it on the way home. Six thumbs up.) and made a beeline for the register. My kids gave me The Eyes. I gave them my precious coupon. They professed undying love and affection for their generous mom. I grunted. We left.

About halfway home I realized what my problem was. I’d known, all along, what book I was in the mood for. And I’d known, all along, that I wouldn’t find it at Borders. So when I got home I turned on my computer and ordered The Book: Luke Davies’ God of Speed. None of the pinhead publishers in America have picked it up, so I had to order it from Australia. Well worth it, but still…I wish I could’ve grabbed it at Borders. You know…the coupon.

Speaking of novels that haven’t been picked up by pinhead American publishers (my segues are getting better all the time), Chapter 14 of Waiting for Spring is up at Readers and Writers Blog. Also posted is Chapter 26: Cole Street of Ginny Good. (Damn, I wish I’d titled my chapters.) Check ’em out. You’ll be glad you did.

Stuff and nonsense

/ R.J. Keller / 2 Comments
I’ve been neglecting this place all week long and I feel kinda bad about it. To be honest there hasn’t been a whole lot going on worth blogging about, and I’m not going to bore you with any “So, I was clipping my toenails last night…” type of posts. Even though I really did clip my toenails last night.

I’ve also been working like a crazy woman on a new screenplay this week. My muse has been very generous and my internal editor has been mercifully silent, which almost never happens at the same time. I’m too superstitious (and a bit gun-shy, after the recent attempted plagiarism of “No Pants Lady”) to share any details on my work-in-progress, so that–to quote Forest Gump–is all I have to say about that. At least for the time being.

So, my three reasons for posting tonight are:

(1.) To remind you guys that Chapter Four of Waiting for Spring has been posted at Readers and Writers Blog, (along with a new short story by James Fox–Cross Roads–and Chapter 16 of Ginny Good). I had a lot of fun writing this particular chapter, as it introduces eight-year-old Cassidy Burke, who–truth be told–is my favorite character.

(2.) To ask if there are any HTML geeks in the house? I need a tutorial in how to post spoiler tags here in my blog, and by “tutorial” I mean “explain it in language a 37-year-old HTML illiterate woman can understand.” I’ve had a few Waiting for Spring questions emailed to me this week that I’d love to answer, but they’re all rather spoilery.

(3.) To say I hope everyone has a great weekend. I’ll be in Portland for the Old Port Festival on Sunday. Check it out if you’re in the area. If you see a super-hot chick with rock-hard abs and flowing raven locks…well, it won’t be me. I’ll be the dowdy mom in an old Red Sox t-shirt and

even older jeans, stuffing her face with whatever food isn’t tied down while dancing very badly.

The Geek Gets A Day To Herself

/ R.J. Keller / 6 Comments

My family has a tradition. The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, my hubby takes my kids fishing on a remote lake deep in Maine’s ‘unorganized territory ‘. I can’t be any more specific than that, because he has sworn me to secrecy. The place is tourist-free at the moment, and he’d like to keep it that way for as long as possible. Besides, where they choose to drown a few dozen worms every year isn’t the point of this story. The point is this: I had an entire Saturday all to myself.

What would most women have done with this valuable time? To be perfectly honest, I really don’t care, because that isn’t the point of this story, either. This is what I did:

Having bumped three of Kel’s Must Watch DVDs (aka, movies nobody else in my family cares about watching) to the top of our Netflix queue, I spent all of Saturday watching them.

First up, Todd Haynes’ “I’m Not There.” If you’re a Dylan fan, and you haven’t seen it already, get on it. Next up was Kenneth Branaugh’s Hamlet. All four hours of it. Then I watched it again with the director’s commentary. That’s right…eight hours of Hamlet. Finally, disc 3 of season 2 of “24.” Blame my buddy Elle . She recently got me hooked on Jack Bauer’s frequently questionable exploits.

All total, I spent just over 14 hours sitting on my ass in front of the televsion. I should be ashamed of myself, but I’m not. After all, I did manage to weed my garden and worked a little bit on a new screenplay in between the onscreen action. Maybe someday a woman with some time to kill will spend it watching a movie I’ve written. That would be cool.

In the meantime, something else I’ve written is available online right now. That’s right, Chapter 3 of Waiting for Spring is up at Readers and Writers Blog, along with an amazing poem–Oh Mathilda–by Ian Spitzig, the latest installment of Gerard Jones’ Ginny Good, and the final chapter of The Unearthing. Check ’em out.

Today’s the day.

/ R.J. Keller / 4 Comments

Waiting for Spring begins its serialization at Readers and Writers Blog today. Mr. Leavitt’s introductory post contains a brief, but very eloquent, essay about the publishing industry, and I agree with every word of it.

I’ve got nothing against a good, fun, quick read. But for the most part, when I pick up a book–regardless of genre–I want it to grab me by the collar, shake me up, and spin me around. Sadly, that’s been happening with decreasing frequency over the past few years. I’m reminded of what famed philosopher Eddie Wilson once said (although he was referring to the music industry):

It’s like someone’s bedsheets. You sleep in em, soil em, and ship em off to laundry. What I want is something you can wrap yourself up in forever.

I’m not saying that there aren’t any good books being published today; there are. I’ve blogged about several of them. You’ve just really gotta dig for them.

That’s why I’m personally very excited to be a part of the e-publishing world. Making lots of money has never been a goal of mine, and it’s certainly not the reason I write. I just want my work to be read and (hopefully) enjoyed. So check out Waiting for Spring at Readers and Writers Blog. I hope it grabs you.

Serial Box

/ R.J. Keller / 4 Comments

I’m excited to announce that Readers and Writers Blog will start serializing
Waiting for Spring on
Sunday, May 11.

Readers and Writers Blog was founded by a gentleman by the name of Sid Leavitt, a retired newspaper editor who once worked at the Portland* Press Herald. The site’s official description: “a combination website-weblog that promotes good writing. We give writers a place to publish their nonfiction, fiction or poetry of any length at no cost and give readers a place to comment on that work.” But what it is, really, is a haven for writers and a treasure trove for readers.

Currently posted work includes Gerard Jones’ Ginny Good; Disconnected by J. Cafesin; and Leavitt’s own Adrift in America. Needless to say I’m rather humbled by my own pending inclusion in this company, and would have touted this website even if my novel had not been accepted. The fact that it was makes it all the sweeter. You should check it out now. And, of course, check it out on May 11.

* Maine, not Oregon