A Girl Named Eve

Caged Eyes An Air Force Cadet's Story of Rape & Resilience by Lynn K. Hall is one of those rare memoirs whose story stays with you long after reading. It was the book that poked my sleeping writing muse awake and had me vomiting (as they say and how it felt) more of my own memoir back out. A lot can be said about Lynn K. Hall's new book. I find it hard to summarize without giving too much of it away. It's a brave, honest, open, unforgettable, evocative memoir that will have you feeling a roller coaster of emotions from anger, empathy, understanding, hopefulness, disbelief, determination, and awe. I'm in awe of the way Lynn K. Hall was able to open up and reveal so much of her personal journey and traumas. As a writer, I'm well aware that when you publish a memoir, you can inadvertently put yourself out there to be scrutinized and judged. Caged Eyes is a foremost example of fearless writing. I had been reading a series of how-to books on screen wr...

One of the staples I keep in the truck of my car is my DIY bleacher seat cushion. Its a flat thin recyclable bag with a folded picnic blanket inside. This DIY is so simple, it seems too common sense to blog about. But I will since it phases me why anyone would buy one of those foam seat cushions I see on sale at sporting good stores and events. This one is on sale for $15! My DIY bleach seat cusion is way more functional than a manufactured bleacher seat cushion which has only one purpose. Having a blanket conviently stored inside makes it multifunctional.  You have a blanket on hand for those chilly early morning meets. And any time we are at outdoor events with my mom or inlaws, I'm prepared for the evening cold for them as well.  A shade for the afternoon sun. Fold it length wise for a multiple seat cushion, to reserve extra seat space, or to spread out your legs. (As a track mom of three sons, I can been on the bleachers for hours. I'm writing this b...

Daryl Goldberg's First-Time Filmmaker F*#^-ups is one of the more useful books I've read in a long time. I highly recommend it to not only aspiring directors, but to screen writers, film crew, and film actors as well, since it gives you a birds eye overall detailed perspective of the movie making business from what to look out for with legal issues, to who is responsible for moving the prompts on set. I've had the opportunity to be a part of a film crew before so reading helped me understand the ins and outs of what I had witnessed. It will give you an appreciation of what is needed in the making of a movie, as well as easy to follow instructional lessons on the lingo used on sets. I wish there were a lot more books just like this for all sorts of different topics to learn how things work from this easy to follow global yet detailed perspective. It's format is a great way to introduce a broad range of issues and give tips to rookies of common pitfalls.

Although I still love to hold a paperback in my hands, for the last few months I've been addicted to reading books on my tablet now that I have access to a seemingly endless amount of books online via Safari Books Online. I was able to get free access through my work since I'm in a technical field and Safari specializes in technical books. They have a wide collection of online books and videos ranging in subjects from photography, programming, networking, personal, and professional development. I love to browse the collection and add books to my reading lists. I have found and read books I probably would not have purchased since they are outside my field, but being that they book is free and I'm curious about the subject, I'm able to browse books from the comfort of my bed and I end up reading it to completion since I like what I'm learning. I would have been very reluctant to pay for an online library such as this in the past, but now that I've grown to ...

For over a year now, I've been practicing extreme self-care. That means I don't run myself anywhere nearly as ragged as I used to, not for my art, other people, or events that are fun but end up costing  too much time, energy, and gas. The forms of self-care that have had the biggest impact and which I've been able to keep consistently  are my morning and evening rituals. I came up with an idealistic list for each. I added things I enjoy doing and want to be doing regularly. I say it's idealistic because the list has too many items to do on a typical workday/evening but having the variety of things to do as a possibility, helps to keep my mornings and evenings flexible and unique since I can pick and choose among my ways to start my mornings or close my evenings. I've become accustomed to the daily morning and nightly rituals I created for myself. It's been both healing and centering to have them in place. I have more patience on days when I wake up earl...

As a playwright, I'm sometimes asked to read for characters during my play-writing classes or writing groups, and even at auditions to read with actors. It's fun and I've always been fascinated with how a seasoned actor can bring words to life even when they haven't memorized the lines and are still reading from a script. They somehow kept pace with the script while the other actor was reading and their faces weren't buried in the script. So, I wanted to learn the techniques actors use for doing a successful cold read. I did a little searching and found a useful YouTube video by thehellerapproach on cold reading . For those of you not familiar with acting, a cold read is an impromptu reading of part of a script. You are asked to read something and you are only given a few minutes. A cold reading is not when you are given the script the night before the audition since a dedicated actor would have studied and memorized the script by then. Sometimes in auditions,...

I had the opportunity to attend a small business expo recently. As I walked around the booths, I couldn't help to feel that some of the hopeful businesses were modeled after old paradigms that just aren't true anymore. The internet, social media, environmental issues, documentaries, and a push towards minimalism have helped pave the way for more conscious living. What I saw were entrepreneurs clinging to old business and products ideas. Multi-Level Marketing Companies Multi-level marketing companies   sell anything from makeup, essential oils, to kitchen wares. I can't remember the last time I went to one of those hosting parties, but if I did it was probably close to 20 years ago. I come across these vendors at farmers markets. If there is still a venue for them, that would be it.  The money maker though was in getting other people to sign up as sales reps  (another aging paradigm) to produce greater earnings. Why go through all the trouble to be ...

I was surprised to find that my latest travel book find,  T he Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett, and Amanda Pressner,  was a withdrawn book from the Rockford Public Library. This was a huge mistake on the part of the librarian/staff who had obviously not read the book. It's over 538 pages, almost two inches thick, intimidating considering we live in the age of social media distraction. I had recently bought five other travel books and kept this one at the bottom of the pile for its sheer size. I figured that if I could get through a book this thick I can get through anything, maybe even get around to reading the Bible one day. Little did I know, I inadvertently saved the best for last. The Lost Girls is about three late 20 something New Yorkers who set off on an adventure to travel the world together for one year. From page one I was hooked. I was grateful the book start...

You know how I love to read. Well, I was just so excited and inspired when I came across a variety of artworks created of readers. The artwork spanned centuries and styles, and left me wanting more. Here is just a sample of what I found. Luna By Oleg Zhivetin Crystal Coast Reader By Beth Carrington Brown Reader #19 (large), 2012. Darren Thompson. Oil.  Total immersion … has readin g really changed? Photograph: Corbis Redwood Reader  BY  BRIAN STEWART Mary McLain ”Young Girl Reading” Jean-Honoré Fragonard, oil on canvas, 31 15/16 x 25 1/2 in. 1770 Reading Girl By Franz Eybl. When was the last time you held a book? What was the last book you read? How was your transition from reading paper backs to reading in digital format? Have you made that switch yet?

I've been probing the internet for informative/insightful video interviews of authors, agents, editors. I came across this interesting interview with Marcela Landres, Acquition Editor. Marcela Landres is the author of "How Editors Think: The Real Reason They Rejected You". I'm adding it to my list of must reads after listening to this video. I would have added the video to this page but I wasn't able to. Here's the url to the video below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3p3dy6TEDg There were several important points in this interview including the need for more Latino Acquistion Editors, and the need for talented writers to really hone their craft, and lastly: Buy the Books! Don't share them! Authors don't get paid for readers, they get paid for writers. Links: http://www.marcelalandres.com Recommendations:  The Columbia Publishing Course  BookJobs.com

I missed this year's Comadres and Compadres Latino Writers Conference! It slipped off my radar completely. I'm normally very good about such things. And even better, now that I have come to know and be embraced by a community of writers, they are usually the ones to give me a heads up about upcoming events and submissions. I'll be there next year for sure.  Were you able to attend? The goal of the Comadres and Compadres Latino Writers Conference is to connect Latino writers to the agents and editors who are looking to publish them. The conference centers on three themes: access, guidance, community. Access to publishing insiders who make decisions of who and what gets published and who are desperately seeking Latino writers. Guidance on how to navigate their writing careers from idea, inception to publication. And to foster a Community of like minded writers. Hope to build a nation wide community of authors that will hopefully support each other on their way...

This is also from an older draft post. I've since been part of a show, an extraordinary experience I still have to blog about but I'd thought I'd still post these earlier thoughts. I love writing so just having a story out their in print or online and getting commented on I thought was enough but as I was recently told by an actor, when your story is told on stage its a completely different experience because of the interaction between the actors and the audience. In this play I definitely felt the chemistry. Now and days and even back in the old days it was so hard to make a motion picture. To tell one of our stories would cost thousands of dollars and an experienced Hollywood budget and staff. At CASA 0101 what you need is an idea and some ganas to make your story into a play. And best of all its a community event with a very grass roots feel.

I'm diving into Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees. I don't like to be between books for very long. I found it much of a coincidence that I had heard Sue Monk Kidd's name over three times in one week from three very different sources. My sister lent me some CDs of Sue Monk Kidd's First Light audio book. The second  was in Wayne Dyer's audio CDs on Spitirtual Living. And finally, when I was perusing my brother's bookshelf right next to his infamous political commentary personality I don't want to even mention here, was the The Secret Life of Bees on the bookshelf of my 32 year old brother I asked to borrow the book. A diverse collection of books to say the least. Still though, I felt compelled to read and I'm immediately taken in.

While in Alaska, my family and I saw an bald eagle soar right above our heads. It made us stop, turn, and gasp a deep breath. Later on that same trip, a brown mother (or father) bear walked in front of our bus as we slowly approached our glacier destination. Everyone got up and raced to the left side of the bus almost trampling over each other to take pictures. Both those times my instincts led me to reach for my camera. I didn't succeed with taking the shots.  Thirteen, eleven, and eight years ago, a slimy new born baby was placed on my deflated belly and we both stared into each others eyes for the first time. I have to trust that my memory will preserve my memories for me.  While waiting to board our cruise ship, I took a picture of an ordinary pigeon I saw later that same day to celebrate the ordinary moments. The breath taking moments, I know are irreplaceable and I entrust them to my memory. But among the rare fleeting moments are all the ordin...

Intimate stories about women from the hearts of men. I was anticipating seeing this play since I had first heard of it when it's producer and writer X first mentioned on a producing class I attended at Josefina's Workshops. I liked the idea of men confessing the good and bad influences women have been in their lives. And I wanted to see the full cycle of a development of a grassroots play unravel. From the class it seemed that producing a play is much like planning a wedding. There are plenty of details to watch, and you have to schedule things out months in advance and work backwards to set deadlines such as when the script should be written to the auditioning of actors. It was nice to see this project in completion. From the workshop, I learned about stuff I never would have considered such as differences between union actors and proper budgeting of the smallest details involved The writer x, grew up in a household of 5 sisters, and a supportive mot...

On Saturday, June 26, 2010,  I attended a Writing Workshop Intensive taught by Cherrie Moraga and  Adelina Anthony. My sister is a big fan so I went even though I have yet to read Cherrie's This Bridge Called My Back, Loving in the War Years, or The Hungry Woman. There's other books but those are the ones I really want to read. We did several fun writing exercises. I was relieved that we would have a chance to read and share some of our work. We filled a old conference room. There must have been 30 of us. I counted. Some sat on the floor to listen. I remember a handful of advice Cherrie gave that I committed to memory. Only you can you do. So don't worry about someone else trying to steal our work because what makes it special is us. We all have different stories to tell from different perspectives, tones, opinions. Stay humble. Don't let pride or arrogance keep you stuck thinking that you know it all. Stay humble, stay open. Keep learning. I have no problem ...

When I first stepped out of the hotel on a warm and muggy end of May morning. I wanted to go right back in through the revolving doors of the hotel I stayed at and come back out again as I was unexpectedly greeted with the sound of concrete drilling, traffic of local businesses setting up for the day. At first glance it felt like I flew 4 hours booked a hotel room only to awaken in L.A. Don't hate me New Yorkers. I did end up failing for NYC but it wasn't love at first sight. I found after the fact that I am not the only one who was shocked to find that NYC is not as glamorous as it appears in Sex N City. I know it's nieve but that's just why I was so surprised by my first impression. So when did I fall in love with NYC. Days later after waiting in line with hundreds of people of many different ethnic origins waiting in line to see the city from the top of the Empire States building. And after witnessing the Statue of Liberty and learning about the struggles i...

Advice I Would Give To My Sister... Every now and then, I come across lessons I have learned through either good advice or lessons I've learned  the hard way through experience. I usually find myself passing them along along to my sister. I don't think she wants to hear my so felt, "Words of Wisdom" but at least I feel I did my part. Now and days, I'm more inclined to post some new found insight on my blog as a way for me to archive my thoughts and also share any insights with the world. I figure if fate brings them to my page, then the message was meant for them. So what's my guiding word of wisdom for today. I'm not sure I can dispense of one today. I doesn't feel as easy as it sometimes is for me. As I'm clearing out my blog posts from saved drafts, I think about why I was holding on to not submitting these posts sooner. What did I think was lacking? I've come to write as if I were talking to my sisters. I think my readers and fello...

This is another older post I found saved as a draft. Since I've been logging my journey. I'll post it now.  After church we had another grueling soccer game. I wasn't completely in my element the second half of the game when I had to block two men who ran quickly past me leaving me quickly behind.  After the soccer game, we came home to shower and get ready for my nephew's Baptism. It was a good party with a kid's mariachi band that sang. They were young and inexperienced but it made the party memorable.  We are a good type of busy. In all of this, I am trying to keep myself centered and in good spirits. And I do enjoy it.  We have a big family so it seems like there is always parties from June to October. There is a difference from oh, I'm chasing my tail to oh, I have a rich life and I am living it to the fullest, working on my dreams, spending time with my family.  I remember Sunday afternoons, I used to think about having to go to work on Mo...

Since when did it become okay to refer to our society as consumers? I first heard this word "consumer" in the corporate news media. A decade or so ago, I thought I was being smart by using this word when I was referring to my family and I about a certain product we were looking at when I was at the store. A man looked at me and my kids when I said this and said I got to get away, and then walked away. His wife turned to me and excused him by saying he's been listening too many conspiracy theories and something about Rockefeller. That was several years ago before I knew any better. Since then, I've become familiar with neuro-linguist programming and I also learned about some of those conspiracy theories that have since begun to show they have valid points. It's as if they are trying to undermine the power of our humanity through the use of that language. At first, the word consumer was used in business to business speak to refer to "consumers...