(no words) the plot

letter from congress

I got a letter from a member of Congress the other day.

It wasn't irate or anything... and it was hand-signed, a rarity in this day of pre-stamped stationary.

Yeah... I'm a sucker for stuff like this. And it's not like I could vote for this particular House member, either, because I live in his neighboring District. But... I will admit, honestly, that when I did live in his district, and despite his being from "the other party," I voted for him in the past.

Anyway, the letter was a congratulations for Ghost Medicine, and also a very nice comment about my setting an example for kids and the community.

Shucks.

And so, while I'm on the subject of appreciation and gratitude, let me continue with my Day 6 of The Gratitude Experiment. I am so incredibly grateful for all the people I've never met who somehow managed to find my book and read it. I know I'm not in the same category of visibility of some YA authors, and being a debut novelist (particularly right now) is especially hard, but every couple of days it seems I find reviews or get email from people all over the country who have read -- and like -- Ghost Medicine.

That's something that I never considered in all the years I spent writing stories... that I could actually make a connection to people whom I'd never even seen. Part of that, I guess, is because I never considered even jokingly attempting to get any of my fiction published. It was too personal and put me at too great a risk. So, being the spineless, noodle-backed coward that I am, I never gave the publishing thing a shot until I'd finished Ghost Medicine, and even then, I didn't take myself very seriously.

I must have been drunk or something.

I mean... what was I thinking???

Oh well... I never quit once I start something. So now I'm stuck with this gig and it's stuck with me. But thanks, all you people... all over the place.

Day 6

tales from the outside

Warmest climes but nurse the cruelest fangs...

Yeah... everything's fine, everything's great... you're doing a terrific job... I like what you do... and...

WHAM! I get kicked in the balls.

Today, day five of my Gratitude Experiment, I'm going to say how grateful I am for books and reading. I constantly read. Every day. If I'm not simultaneously reading a great book, and working on my own writing, I feel like I'm dying. And I don't mean dying in a colloquially-exaggerated way... I mean actually, physically, going to die.

And today I finished combing through the galley pages for in the path of falling objects. I'll be honest. It's very good.

I think sometimes it's difficult for a writer to get out of himself and read his work as a reader, if that makes any sense. I think you have to step away from it for some time in order to allow a sort of emotional distance to establish itself.

And it had been a while since I'd looked at the story, so coming back to it was kind of a trip. I kept finding myself wondering who actually wrote this story.

It's not to say that I think it's perfect. I found plenty of mistakes, questions that I had about what I meant, and I toiled over a few sentences here and there... changing them, then changing them back, then changing them again.

But all things considered, I'd probably let just about anyone read this galley copy the way it stands now, and I'm not certain I felt that way about Ghost Medicine.

This brings me to a second subject of gratitude: the editorial team at Feiwel and Friends. I often talk about the people I work with as a "team" when I give talks to high school kids, because that's what we are. We all have a common goal in mind, we all pull our weight and do things that other team members count on, and we all trust one another. Working with my team has made me a better player (writer), too.

Or, at least I think so.

No. I am pretty sure... I just read the book.

And I know I don't know everyone who was involved in every capacity, but I do want to express my gratitude and appreciation for Allison Remcheck (who I know is going to be a great writer one day), Dave Barrett (who, I am thinking, is a kind of kindred spirit, even if he is on the opposite side of the country), but especially to Liz Szabla, my editor, from whom I learned more about writing than I ever did in any schoolroom, university lecture hall, or newsroom when I was a young punk trying to learn my chops.

Day 5

about the writing thing

This is another picture taken out in front of my house. Now you can see why it's a no-brainer why I am grateful for where I live. (It hasn't snowed yet this year)

When I was a kid, so many of us wanted to grow up and be writers. Now that's something I never hear. I have a lot of theories why that is, and if you've read my blog steadily, you'll remember how much I've written in the past about turning boys away from reading and writing. And the big headline this week (well... at least in education) praises gains in math and science for fourth and eighth-grade students.

That's part of it, too. And I know that there will be some physics and math dudes out there who get their panties in a bunch over this, but the over-emphasis of cut-and-dry, non-interpretive disciplines is taking a toll on the arts, creativity, and critical thinking.

The consequence of this is that when we DO pull out of this recession, we will be actually LESS capable of competing with world economies on those things that precisely made America great -- innovation and creativity.

Okay, math and physics dudes in panties, bring it on.

So, when I go out and talk to high school kids, I get the most amazing reception and reactions from students and teachers because I talk to them about growing up and becoming a writer -- as a profession. And they're like... duh... I never thought you could do that. I guess I don't have to wear these panties.

Seriously, though, it's something that kids never talk about or explore in schools anymore, and that's a shame, because so many kids, teachers, and librarians send me e-mails after my little shows and tell me how inspired they are about one day becoming a writer.

So this brings me to today's reason to be grateful. It's a personal one. Because all this sharing I get to do, all the places I get to go, all the amazing, incredible people I get to meet have all been brought to my life because of my agent. I am really grateful for her.

I know a lot of writers who've never even seen their agent, but I sat down to lunch with mine and had a terrific conversation before I even signed a contract with her. And since then, she's become a friend -- someone I can really count on through all my high-maintenance-moody-tantrum-throwing-don't-bother-me-now-I-am-in-a-manic-writing-frenzy-and-suddenly-I-want-to-give-up crap.

And not only is she a great coach and encourager, she is academically brilliant and creatively gifted. I'm not even going to ask her if she likes physics and calculus... I'm afraid she'd be an expert at those things, too.

So, thanks.

See... this gratitude experiment, I am finding, forces you to consciously think about expressing your appreciation. Sure... we all go along quietly enough, day after day, with a kind of white noise of yeah-I'm-thankful-for-that humming along unexpressed somewhere in our minds. But keeping track of those things and taking the time to actually concentrate on defining them as words (which is what we writers do, kids) is quite an enlightening experience that nurtures the heart.

december tenth

Gosh.

December tenth, a very significant day in my life that I just can't forget about.

So I may as well just start off with the gratitude experiment, day three:

First of all, there are so many individual people I am grateful for that if I listed them all individually and told why, it would take more than 30 entries. But I do plan on listing a few of those people throughout this month-long experiment.

But today I just wanted to say how grateful I am for my fireplace, especially at this time of year when it gets painfully cold up in the mountains. I know it may not be green, but the only way we heat our home in wintertime here is with our wood stove. It's enormous, and we like to leave the door open when it's burning.

Yeah... we do have central heating and central air conditioning, too... but we have NEVER used them in the twelve years that I've owned this house. So, at this point, I'd be scared to try, anyway... and I didn't choose to live somewhere that's 20 miles from the nearest grocery store or traffic light so that I could run an air conditioner and watch satellite TV (you know I don't watch TV, anyway).

I am also grateful for coffee. Black only. Very strong.

I am not at all grateful for those free coffee makers they put in hotel rooms when I travel... you know, those ones that have a floppy-disk complimentary coffee bag? They are consistently horrible, yet every time I travel I always succumb to the temptation -- the self-delusion -- that they may actually make real coffee.

But they don't.

Gag.

So that's all I want to talk about today. I'm going to do a little work now.

on politics

The people have spoken. This is why the people can't trust Jonah.

That's a line from in the path of falling objects, a moment when the psychopath Mitch launches into a tirade and uses his version of "democracy" to prove he's right.

Okay, yesterday I was homo economico and today I am going to be homo politico. As you probably know, I don't ever express political opinions on my blog, but I am going to today because this has been eating me up for a month now, and this gnawing feeling was made even worse yesterday when I read an article that quoted some ridiculous and offensive comments made by Pat Boone, who I honestly thought was dead... and maybe he is and his wizened and desiccated corpse is being used as some kind of Knucklehead Smiff for a hatemonger ventriloquist.

Oh yeah... I am going to cuss, too.

Here goes:

California, are you fucking kidding me?????

The people have not spoken. This Prop 8 crap, Pat, is not democracy. In fact, it is exactly what James Madison warned our republic about more than 200 years ago: the dangers of a minority faction capturing the political process by spending cash as a means of exerting its power.

Hear me out... and here's the deal:

We have state legislatures to pass laws in the interests of the people. Almost 100 years ago, those legislatures were largely controlled by big business and corrupt political party machinery. Forward-thinking states like Wisconsin and California initiated progressive reforms that reduced the power of parties and big money, but those progressive reforms have now been captured by big-money minority factions... sorry... like churches.

It's ridiculous. California's initiative procedure basically paves the way for well-financed fringe groups to pass legislation. It is not what was intended when Progressive reforms ushered in a new era of politics in the 20th century.

And don't tell me it was fairly and properly put before the voters, Pat. Propositions are deliberately misleading, and the California ballot is routinely so bogged-down with CRAP that voters often skip most of it so they can simply do their duty -- electing officials who act responsibly with their constituents' interests in mind.

If the people want to vote on every single freekin' law, then let's do away with the state legislature entirely. Then we can work out things like budgets, tax codes, environmental standards, and education policies by voting every couple days or so.

But... come on!!! these propositions all start with big money launching campaigns that invariably begin with paid signature collectors who camp out behind folding card tables in Wal-Mart parking lots.

California, do you really want our state's laws proposed, debated, and decided in Wal-Mart parking lots?

No matter what it is, California, vote NO on it if it appears as a proposition on the ballot. No matter how good or emotionally satisfying it sounds, vote NO. Let's give legislative authority back to our republican architecture of government. If your legislator doesn't perform... vote them out. But shame on any church or business who pours millions of dollars into manipulating our state's laws.

That is the essence of anti-Americanism, and it is precisely what the Framers of our Constitutional system of government warned about during the 1780s.

Get a grip, Pat... or Knucklehead... or whoever you are.

There. Now, on a positive note... today I would like to say how grateful I am for where I live... not just the great State of California, but the specific "where." It is beautiful, quiet, and tranquil... the best possible setting for a writer. In fact, that picture at the top of this blog post was taken last spring while I was running with my dog in the hills across the lake from my home.

I am also grateful for Jen, who got me thinking about this gratitude thing enough to try the experiment for myself.

See what happens?

Day 2.

raising loserdom to a new level

Okay... just let me tell you how much of a loser I am.

Last night, I made dinner. It involved chopping up jalapeno peppers. Oh yeah... I wear contact lenses because I'm not just a loser, I'm a blind loser. So, when I took my contacts out at bedtime, it was like... sweet mother of God. It felt like being skinned alive, childbirth, breastfeeding a lamprey, all rolled into one.

Okay. So that was bad enough. But it was kind of cool because it had been a while (like two days) since I'd cried myself to sleep.

And I figured that when I woke up, everything would be okay. But no. Contact lens solution does not wash away jalapeno juice. So when I put them back in after my shower, it was flashback to the skinned-alive-childbirth-lamprey sensation.

Yeah. I know.

I'm a loser.

And, speaking of losers, I was thinking I'd put on a different hat today and write a bit about the economy and what I predict we can look forward to (Smith, having not just an advanced degree in loserosity, but a solid background in the dismal science... was that Malthus or Ricardo? Hmm... but I digress).

Here's the deal, and I am quite willing to debate this issue with anyone except Paul Krugman, maybe, but those favoring a monetary approach to our current economic recession are taking the entirely wrong approach. The Fed can't expect to see results in aggregate demand shifting by lowering interest rates and allowing commercial banks to increase M1. We've seen as much demonstrated already because the bailout money is largely being horded and has yet to produce any results along the credit lines.

And why would you expect it to? Who would sanely take out credit for investment given the outrageous level of unemployment and the prospect of a potential deflation-crash depression?

The only thing that can be done (and we know this is true, but it is going to take some BALLS, is massive government spending. That's it. The only way. And don't give me any knee-jerk proclamations of socialism. You're an idiot if you don't prefer being a well-fed "socialist" (if that's the name you want to use) as opposed to an emaciated and tubercular laissez-faire capitalist.

So... I predict the following: Massive government spending legislation on President Obama's desk by inauguration day, and an extension of the Bush tax cuts. It's the best, but ballsiest, approach -- solving this crisis fiscally as opposed to monetarily.

Okay... I am done being an economist for today.

And, finally, I have been inspired by my friend, literary agent Jen Rofe. About a month ago, she wrote every day for a month about things she was grateful for... I think she called it The Gratitude Experiment (correct me if I'm wrong, Jen).

I figure I've been too sour-pussy lately, so I've decided to give it a go, too (and adhere to her restriction on material possessions... which I honestly do not care about, anyway).

So... here goes for day 1 of things I am grateful for:

Kids. Not just my kids, but kids in general. They are awesome without going out of their way to try to be. In the last month, I think I've spoken before about 1000 kids at various high schools, and each time I've been so uplifted by their insights, inquisitiveness, and their energy.

Seriously.

Let's see what I'm grateful for tomorrow (and it won't be my accomplishments in loserosity).