3 Things on My Christmas List (Not That'll I Get Any of It) and Back-of-the-Book Blurb # 38

       No, I don't want a pair of slippers or a bottle of perfume, all wrapped up and placed under the tree. But there are a few things I would love:

• hindsight... Perhaps if I knew then what I know now, I would have started writing--seriously--at an earlier age. If I knew that I'd need to find a good group of writers to surround myself with, if I knew that blogging and critiquing and slogging through pieces was so much fun... I'd be a little more successful than I am now...

• better posture... If I always stood straight and tall, perhaps I would not have offended the gods and would have been granted another couple of feet in height when I was in the genetic oven, which means my weight would might be perfect for my height. (They could have also turned less under for feet--I'm a size 11--which would have made me taller as well.)

• knowledge... that eating mashed potatoes while binge-watching Better Call Saul * does not help one develop a healthy lifestyle. Now my left knee is paying for it.

     And now, onto book blurb business--

• Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book.
• You choose the genre. A screenplay? A graphic novel? A biography? You decide.

• Write an enticing blurb--150 words or less. (The title doesn't count in the word count.) Lisa Ricard Claro was the original creator of this project  and this past summer, her third novel Love to Win debuted. Now she's working on her fourth novel. Check out her website. 
• Include your blurb in a blog post. Include a link to this post. 
• Link your post to Mr. Linky. Mr. Linky is easy. You don't have to buy him a drink or anything. If you've never done it, you'll be impressed with how simple he is.
• Check out the other blurb(s). It's interesting to see the different directions writers take, given the same photo.
• And have fun with it. Think of it as a way to take a break from the truly important writing you do... like a bit of a warm-up.

      Here is the book cover and my blurb:

There’s Weird in That There Woman

Pauline had always been obsessed with Hitchcock. When she’d spy a flock of birds, she’d try to entice them into her house. On a vacation, she dreamed of scampering around on the faces of Mount Rushmore. She’d sing Que Sera Sera at the top of her lungs and imagine that just the sound of her voice would lead to a kidnapper being nabbed. And when she took a shower? Well, it was unbelievable what Pauline did in the privacy of her bathtub…

One evening while having her nightly glass of port in a local bar, Pauline met a portly man. A man with a huge second chin and an unusual voice. He was older. He was balding. But Pauline had a feeling he would be a perfect mate.

Will Pauline and Alvin find true love? Or will he decide Pauline’s psycho? (141 words)

(The title comes from a story about when Hitchcock met Mae West. She was wearing a gold lame' evening gown. Hitchcock--apparently quite a pig--was drooling over her curves and said, "There's hills in that there gold.")

And for Val and Pat and anyone else who cares to play along, here's the photo for next week.

 

* And if you loved the show Breaking Bad but have avoided Better Call Saul, watch it. Yes, it's far different than Breaking Bad but if you stick with it and your mouth doesn't gape open in amazement and make you say "OMG" when you see what happens in the last moment of the last episode, I will buy you a book of your choice (within reason). Or maybe I'll simply publicly admit that perhaps my taste is sometimes not as impeccable as I boast it is (since I might be unemployed next year). 

The Power of Zen(tangle)

        I am quite fond of taking breaks. When I write, I take lots of little time-offs. It helps me keep the writing flowing.

        Drinking lots of water ensures I take breaks. The bladder fills. The bladder has to be emptied.

       I also take reading breaks. If I go to a writing retreat, where I'm writing for 2-3 days, I'll occasionally stop and read for 20 minutes. The inspiration well runs low, so it gets replenished.

       Doodling is also what I do during breaks. Zentangle is a methodical way of doodling, and when I need to take a longer break (like an hour or so) I might work on some zentangling. For example, I might work on zentangling some notecards or some other project. As I'm drawing the straight lines, the curved lines, as I'm filling in some of the spaces with a black marker, I get more relaxed and my mind goes blank...

         ... and when my mind goes blank, new ideas for whatever my WIP is can come creeping in.

          If you're interested, just google "zentangle" and you'll be deluged by hundreds and hundreds of pattern ideas. There's books you can buy as well. And if you think 'I can't draw, so I can't zentangle,' you're wrong.

         If you can draw a (semi) straight line. If you can draw a curvy line. If you can draw dots. If you can draw more-or-less round circles... you can zentangle. And if you try it, you just might find it's a way to open up your mind for more difficult artistic endeavors... like writing.

       Do you take breaks from your writing? And if you do, what do you do during your breaks? Doodling minds want to know.