St.Louis Trip, Part 2 (Or, Pictures with Captions to Make it Shorter)

This post is going to rely on the old adage: "A picture is worth 1,000 words." 

Less narration, more phtoto highlights of the second half of the St. Louis trip:

Walking on the train tracks by the river behind St. Charles Historic District.

Me and my little Beastie with downtown STL.

The Arch is REALLY tall.
No, we did NOT go up there.
Scary.

Saw this all over downtown. I kept thinking, "Monsters, Inc!"

Oh, such creative marketing :P. The best "in the whole wide world."
*eye roll*
Did make for a good stop while....

....Jeff's cousin took Beastie 1 to the Wax Museum

Insert "Pretty Woman" theme song....

Even with my dairy allergy I totally indulged here.
150 people standing in the parking lot at like 10:00 at night can't be wrong.

At the zoo...which is the Beastie?

An inordinate fondness for beetles...

Oh, the implications when both Kat is me and Me is me....

Does this really need a caption?
My husband is the awesomest.

I'm kinda breaking my own rule here. THIS needs explaining. After the flat tire, we pulled into the nearest town. A tiny place (population under 14,000) called Jackson, MO.

This gas station was the cleanest I have EVER seen.

The bathrooms had granite counter tops and granite tile. The mirrors were all decorative. It was like going into the restroom at a nice restaurant. No joke. I know--why the big fuss? Well, a two-day drive up, a two-day drive back...lots of stops at fast food places and such to use the restroom...this was a little slice of heaven :P.

AND.....

When I came out, I noticed a rack of books. NOT the typical Nickolas Sparks or whatever you'd expect to see in a gas station. Nope, books like these:

Yeah, YA spec-fic. So I bought these. (There were plenty others, too!)

Not that either of those titles ended up all that great, but it was like, wow, I'm in the middle of nowhere, in a clean gas station, with YA spec-fic books for sale at $3.99 each....am I being punk'd?

And....that brings us to the second day driving, mostly through Alabama to avoid the state in which I shall never live. Lovely rolling hills and lots of green, and lots of heavy rain. But we are safely home, and days later I'm sorta recovered :).

My A-ha Moment (Or, Realm Makers Part 1 1/2: My Thoughts on the Birth of a Genre)

I'll be honest, I really get annoyed when I read blog posts that are "inspired" by the blogger's pastor's sermon, or just an expansion on a devotion they read that morning. I'm not sure why, but it feels rather often that they're just rehashing someone else's thoughts.

The exception is when the blog post is about the blogger and a major a-ha moment that happened to them because of the sermon or devotional or whatever.

Which is what happened to me today.

Our Sunday school lesson this morning was about following God's will. Are you spiritually paranoid, meaning you worry about every little decision (red shirt or green today?) being "wrong"? Or are you spiritually ambivalent, meaning you can never discern God's will and have basically given up and gone your own way?

Well, my answer was that I'm spiritually frustrated--meaning I don't worry about the insignificant details, but I do want the general path of my life to follow God's will, and I'm not always sure what that is. I think a lot of us feel that way.

I spoke up and talked about this in light of my writing. I said that I do feel that writing is something God wants me to do, and I tend to get all worried that I'm not working on the right thing. Should I be writing more (even though I get a lot of comments about how prolific I am)? Should I be marketing more? Should I be giving up and spending more time with my family? Should I be giving up and pursuing something else?

I went on to say how I feel like my (lack of) success as a writer doesn't always seem like it's reinforcing the idea that this is what I ought to be doing, that this is what God wants me to do. Yes, I admit, I said that because I'm not on any best-seller lists (just my example) maybe it means I shouldn't be writing.

But then, stuff just started coming out--thoughts, translated into words, that I had never considered before.

A-ha moment.

I haven't had any big successes, but I've had lots and lots and lots of little ones. Those little ones really add up. Think about someone tracking an animal through the woods, finding little things like broken branches and half-footprints and such. I've gotten small awards and great reviews and these have all been strung along my journey, each saying, yes, you're going the right way, take the next step.

And then my thoughts, and words, went to Realm Makers. I went there looking forward to meeting all these people, fellow writers, that I've gotten to know online. THAT was the best part of the weekend and the thing I most looked forward too--and I'm so happy to say that everyone I met was even cooler and more wonderful than I'd hoped for :).

But what occurred to me today was that I got so much more from the conference. And no, I don't mean that I learned a lot (although I did!).

No, what hit me today, what made my head spin, is that writing is just a part of what God has in store for me. But the big picture is this:

I get to be part of the birth of a new genre. 

Christian Spec-fic is just being born right now. It's been developing in a hidden place where so many people aren't even aware. But it's coming out! And everything -- EVERYTHING -- that happened at Realm Makers felt like it had God's hand on it. God's blessing.

We ARE honoring Him. We are birthing a genre that God wants out there. I could feel it, all weekend, with every word said, every friendship strengthened, every round of applause.

As I said in my last post, Becky Minor's organizing skills blew me away. But you know what--she couldn't have failed if she'd tried. She stepped forward in obedience to God and took on this huge project, and while she is amazing, she had Him backing her every step of the way. And the volunteers, and the attendees....we were all a part of it, all of us stepping up and saying, yes, Lord, we're willing to do this for You. Not just willing--we're excited all the way down to our bones over it!

And. It. Was. Awesome. 

St. Louis Trip - First Half (Or, Driving, Trains, Driving, Realm Makers, and Caves)

It's Saturday night. I've been home from St. Louis for two whole days. My trip to the Realm Makers conference was more than just that--the whole fam tagged along and we spent extra days exploring the town. Two days driving up, two days at the con, three days in STL, and two days driving back. That's NINE days, for you math-challenged people.

And now two days of recovery :).

I did not, and do not, intend to give ya'll a minute-by-minute of the trip, but I have realized that even to hit the highlights I'm going to have to spread this over a few posts.

Let's start with the drive up: Hours getting through Florida and Georgia, much of that trying to get through Atlanta. Sorry Georgians, but the traffic in Atlanta alone is enough to make me never want to live in your state :P.

After FINALLY making it through the state I shall never live in, we stopped for the night in Chattanooga, TN, and stayed at the....wait for it....Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel. It was so cool:

This is the lobby.

Cool gardens, and yes, a train. 

We stayed in a regular room, but you can actually stay in train cars that have been converted to suites. Some of the cars are restaurants, too. 

What The Doctor would travel in if he'd been a Tennessean.

We arrived in St. Louis Thursday night and hit a cool little historic district called St.Charles and had dinner.

I had to take a picture of this on our way to dinner--the reason should be obvious ;).

The next day was the actual Realm Makers conference. 

Had to be there bright and early for check-in. The first person I laid eyes on was Robynn Tolbert. She is as cool, and obsessed with food, in person as she is online.

Yes, Robynn is the blurry one.

There is no way I can list out everyone I met. Plus, being that I'm late in the game as far as posting, there are summaries of everything all over online. Suffice it to say there was much learning and much hugging and many tired bodies dragging themselves back to their rooms both nights. I had a great time listening to the speakers, and participating on the panels--my topics were "science and magic" and "Christian horror." 

The horror panel with me, Randy Streu, and N. Paul Williams.

I also got to give advice to some aspiring writers. The days were long, but I was so, so sad when it was over!

BTW--I have a WHOLE ALBUM of pictures on FB. Go, check 'em out, then come back for the rest of the trip.

I will however, at least show you one more...my River Song costume, since I made such a big deal about it here before.

Yes, that is my hair, and all I did was blow-dry it.

And I have to say that I was BLOWN AWAY by the amazing organizing skills of Becky Minor, whose brainchild this whole thing was. 

So, End of Day Two in St. Louis. Realm Makers is over, and it's time for the fam to do stuff on our own. 

Of course we went to Meramec Caverns, which is about an hour out of town. Beautiful!

I wore the Realm Makers t-shirt that I won:

Ugh, what a bad angle. I swear I'm not pregnant :P.

The day ended with dinner at a barbecue place not really worth mentioning. I know--how anti-climactic of me!

But that brings us halfway through the trip, so I'll stop here and finish it up next time...

Space-filling Funny :)

Because, in all honesty, I just haven't had time to write on here, and this cracked me up.

So, I share a funny:

Is it in the Way You Look at It? (My Updated Thoughts on The Cuckoo's Calling, JK Rowling, and Marketing Stunts)

I did something yesterday that I have never done before. I deleted a published blog post. I had posted some of my thoughts on the whole JK Rowling is Robert Galbraith thing. If you don't know about this story...

The NY Times shares some of my suspicions that this was a publicity stunt. My blog post took things a little farther and called JK Rowling careless because she was basically playing a game pretending to be a new writer and it hurt.

My point was that she was taking for granted something that any new, struggling, and/or aspiring author would hold of the utmost value.

But I realized--I was making a judgement call on JK Rowling's actions. I don't know where she, personally, is coming from. I can guess she's at a stage in her career where the overwhelming fame brought by the Harry Potter books has her doubting if she could cut it on her writing alone. Maybe she's scared she'll have to lean forever on her name.

Maybe she wanted nothing more than to never have to be named as the real author, and the publishing house she is with basically said, if this book doesn't sell under the pseudonym we're either pulling it or outing you. Cos sales is sales, baby. Maybe she's as much a victim in this as the duped readers. Maybe this is a situation like The Prince and the Pauper.

Anyway, my point is, I don't know. And I shouldn't presume.

But I'm apparently not the only one who sees it that way. I discovered this article in The Guardian today. The quotes that stood out most to me are:

"...what Rowling has done, however admirable her intentions, was less risky than it first appeared. She took a gamble when she wrote as Robert Galbraith, instead of under her own name, but she admits that the chances of keeping the secret were "incredibly remote". "

And:

"Indeed, while I don't doubt Rowling's motives for one moment, it's instructive that the revelation of her authorship has quickly become a story about a well-known writer doing something quirky and eccentric – rather than a telling tale about the state of publishing. Whether she likes it or not, she is in that category of stratospherically famous authors who have become brands; Dan Brown is another obvious example. This is a recent development and its impact on other writers is disastrous, creating a situation in which huge publicity budgets are placed behind a handful of authors, skewing bestseller lists."

Of course I worded things rather differently in my post yesterday--and it implied more than I intended. Maybe as a not-at-all-famous author what I said came across as resentful. That wasn't my goal. All I wanted to say was that starting off as a new author and pretending to start off as a new author when you have the ginormous safety net of your world-renown name are not at all equal in risk.

I am at a point where I grab hold of and value every opportunity. If I get to have a table at a craft fair and sell four books in six hours, I'm thrilled despite the fact that those kinds of sales numbers are actually quite pathetic compared to large press authors who might sell 40 or even 400 books in one hour (much less six). I'm at a point where I have no luxuries yet--nothing is assumed, I'm tested at every turn, I have to battle for reviews and respect as a writer.

I get that JK Rowling was in this exact position years ago when she first wrote Harry Potter. If she hadn't hit the right editor at the right time, she could still be struggling to become a published author. She's been through exactly what we aspiring and indie authors are going through right now. She made her way to the top with talent and an amazing story, and hard work. She's earned every bit of success she's gotten, and I never meant to imply that I believe otherwise or that I begrudge her that.

Am I envious of her? Probably to a degree. But even if I am, is that wrong?

Is it wrong to point out that it's a lot easier to take a risk when you have the ultimate sure-fire back-up plan?

Or is it wrong only because I'm down here at the bottom looking up?

My Medieval Birthday Celebration

So, the fam did something last night that I've been wanting to do for a long time. We went to Medieval Times in Orlando to celebrate my birthday. Now, Jeff and I have been before--a few times--but not since pre-Beastie days. (That's before we had kids, for anyone not familiar with the nomenclature here.)

We didn't tell the Beasties where we were going--actually didn't tell them we were going anywhere at all until about an hour and half before we left the house--and they spent half the ride over trying to guess. Neither of them even came close. And when we pulled up...."Wow! We're going to a castle!" and "Cool!"

Yes, cool. Every bit of it was.

The Beasties so happy to get there, and Beastie 2 thinking it was hilarious to have a plastic sign outside a medieval castle.

Posin' with the armor. 

The menfolk.

The womenfolk.

The arena is divided into sections, each with different colors, and you cheer for "your" knight. Ours was gold and red. (Gryffindor colors, I might point out.)

All the knights.

Jeff promised Beastie 2 there would be dancing--She had no idea he meant horses!

And a bigger surprise was awaiting Beastie 2 last night. The knights compete in a tournament and the winning knight picks a girl from the crowd to be crowned "Queen of Love and Beauty."

Guess who got picked!

Here she's smiling, but when the knight reached his hand out to her the look of shock was priceless :).

She wasn't the only one who had awesomeness last night, though.

Beastie 1 got a rockin' souvenir. And so did I:

The top one is his. The bottom one mine. I put them together to show the difference in size. The program under mine is magazine sized, btw.

And here's mine open:

I know...but I have wanted a dragon dagger for SO long. :)

Someday I'll get the sword I've wanted, too! Maybe my next birthday!

Location, Location, Location (or, Beautiful Books aren't Always on the Main Road)

Anyone who has lived in the Tampa Bay area of Florida for any length of time knows about Bayshore Blvd. It's a road that runs along the edge of South Tampa and Tampa Bay (as in the actual bay, the water). It's known for its 4.5 mile long sidewalk.

It's a popular place for walking, jogging, and rollerblading. I was lucky enough to live a couple of blocks from Bayshore Blvd. when I was in college (at the University of Tampa) and it really is beautiful.

But Bayshore Blvd. isn't just known for the sidewalk. On the other side of the road, there is a stretch that is lined with amazing houses. Grande, multi-million-dollar, historic houses.

There are houses like this in many parts of South Tampa. But these are the ones that are well-known, and sought-after when they are for sale. We've all heard it before: location, location, location.

The same is true in publishing. There are lots of lovely, well-crafted, amazing books out there in the wilderness of small presses and self-publishing, but the only way to get them really noticed is to get them in the right location. And big presses have the means to do it. Just like with real estate, location adds to the price. Publishers pay more for "prime real estate" in bookstores and Amazon newsletters--things small presses can rarely afford. And those books end up with far more admirers, just like the houses on Bayshore Blvd. have eyes on them all the time.

But think about those incredible houses you've found tucked away in unexpected places. Down a long, winding country road, on the side of a mountain, in a strange and hidden part of a big city. Part of their beauty is in the discovery.

So while you're strolling down the open road of large-press books, try taking a detour now and then. Go down one of the side-roads and see what kinds of hidden treasures you might find in indie books. And then make sure you share the directions with someone!