Thursday, February 27, 2014

Piano



Something really awesome happened you guys. I got a piano! I’m over the moon excited about it. 

We’ve been in the market for a piano since this summer. It’s actually my Anniversary present from back in August, but we couldn’t find one we liked it time for that deadline. We couldn’t afford to pay much, or really anything at all. On a friend’s suggestion we scoured Craigslist for free piano’s. Obviously beggars can’t be choosers, but we still didn’t want to get something that was too damaged or too far away. Luckily while mine falls a little into the too damaged side, it was only twenty minutes away. We have great friends who were willing to go with us and get it. When we got it back the missionaries took over the heavy lifting! 

I’m guessing it’s from the sixties. It’s a little scuffed up but some TLC has helped enormously. It’s still got some sound problems and sticky keys. We’re going to be learning piano repair to help it out! Jonathon is not excited to figure out how to tune a piano. Luckily he’s awesome enough to do it anyway.
I forgot how wonderful it is to have a piano in the house. I grew with one. My mom is a lovely player and she used to help me go to sleep by playing lullabies. Unlike learning anything else piano relaxed me when I practice. I use it to reorient, to give myself a few moments to let the world go. The day we got it Jonathon had to run out and grab something and when he got back he said exactly what I was thinking. With the piano our apartment feels more like a home.

Well, I should close this blog before I get too zen. I hope your having as great a week as I am!

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Writers Gonna Write- Or Not



What happens to a writer if they don’t write? More importantly, what happens to this writer when she doesn’t write? I used to figure that you weren’t a writer anymore. When I first posed this question I didn’t really consider myself a writer, just an amateur scribbler, so it didn’t cut my confidence like it does now. Now that it’s one of my primary endeavors there’s not much else I can call myself. So what am I when I’m not writing?

As you might have guessed, it’s been a couple weeks of a dry spell out here. The longer I don’t write the more I’m afraid that I’m not really good enough to do this job. That I’m not talented enough, too lazy, you get the picture. Sadly things in life come up that takes precedence over everything else, including writing. If I don’t voluntarily give it time then it ends up taking it and I just feel worse. It’s been a tough couple of weeks there just wasn’t space or energy for creative endeavors. That means that my pretty writing callender has a lot of black X’s and it’s that much harder to get started.

For me not writing creates practical problems as well as existential ones. It means losing momentum, which sucks. When I’m writing regularly I’m constantly working on new scenes. New scenes get me excited and make me want to write more. When it’s been a few weeks like now the scenes that I was working on before I stop have time to get stale. They don’t pull me back to the page. So then I have to do the long, tedious work of writing out a scene I no longer have interest in to get on to a new scene that I do. More than that I miss it. There’s something about writing that is an outlet for me that I don’t get anywhere else. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it, but I always need it. Going without even when necessary is hard.

Things are finally easing up so it’s time to start writing again. I’m just writing blogs today, hoping that will gear me up to get back into writing tomorrow. I miss it already, but I’ve needed my time away. My hope is that I’ll learn how to accept my limitations and not give into the fear that a couple weeks means that I’m a failure forever.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Jennavier Recommends: Promise of Blood by Brian McLellan

I’m a little leery of books by debut authors. I read a lot of YA, and YA is an open field with a ton of debuts so it’s not like I actually avoid them. It’s just that I know going in that there are probably going to be a lot of rough edges. So when I read a debut that comes across as seasoned veterans book it’s something I’ve got to tell you guys about.

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan is awesome. It’s got a fun, fascinating premise with ‘powder mages’, magic users with an industrial age edge. The characters are interesting and McClellan never slips when it comes to them, juggling main characters and minor characters deftly into a smooth narrative. It’s epic fantasy in the style that I just can’t get enough of. The tension kept me flipping pages even though it’s a big book.

The one problem I did have is that despite McClellan trying to use women in non-traditional roles as well as traditional ones every main female character and most of the minors had a narrative that hinged on their personal relationships, versus only one or two male characters who had their love lives as a main focus.

Cool side note, it’s on sale at Amazon for $1.99 right now. It’s pretty hard to pass that up!
 
http://www.brianmcclellan.com/books/promiseofblood/



 ***Update: I'm sad to say I read the second book and completely lost my faith in this series. I wasn't even able to finish it. Read at your own risk.While the first book is still amazing, the second book is a sewer, especially if you're a women.